The clock ticks toward midnight, and while many students finish their homework and get ready to sleep, the newsroom is wide awake. Laptops glow from every corner of the room, editors huddle over pages, and red pens dart across the margins. Everyone is focused and full of energy—it’s the kind of late-night teamwork that recently earned The Mossy Log, Lewis & Clark’s student-run newspaper, statewide recognition.
The Mossy Log brought home a variety of awards at the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association’s 2025 Collegiate Newspaper Contest. Staff earned recognition in categories ranging from news and arts reviews to photography, design, and digital presentation. The statewide wins add to The Mossy Log’s growing recognition; this year, the publication was ranked No. 19 nationally on The Princeton Review’s list of Best College Newspapers.
This sweep of awards reflects not only the talent of individual writers, editors, and photographers, but also the grit and versatility of the newsroom as a whole.
Competing against newspapers from several four-year colleges and universities—including Oregon State University, Linfield University, Willamette University, Pacific University, and Portland State University—The Mossy Log not only won a variety of awards but also garnered first place in multiple categories.
“Winning against papers from bigger publications with far more resources was really validating. No matter our size or budget, the passion of our editors and the hard work we put in makes The Log what it is,” said current Editor-in-Chief Olivia Fendrich BA ’27. “When I heard the results, I was so excited I literally jumped around the room.”
In the “Best Section” category, The Mossy Log took first place for arts coverage (Fall 2024, Issue 6) and third place for news (Fall 2024, Issue 4).
The team also earned second place for “Best Special Section” with its 2024 April Fools edition, a tradition in which the satire and humor of the paper’s Backdoor section extends to the entire issue.
“I started writing for The Log my freshman year because the Backdoor pulled me in. At first, I was mostly excited about writing satire,” Maya Mazor-Hoofien BA ’26 explained. “I gradually began picking up more stories, and by mid-semester, I was hired as a features editor. The rest is history.”
Mazor-Hoofien’s story is a common experience at The Mossy Log: Students do not need prior journalism experience to thrive. The newsroom is a hands-on learning lab, where unexpected paths present themselves.
“We offer a ton of different positions, and you really get the opportunity to specialize in something you’re interested in,” said Fendrich. “The Log becomes a hub for students interested in journalism by sharing internships and opportunities so people know what is available beyond campus.”
Many Mossy Log alumni have carried their newsroom experience into professional journalism and communications careers after graduation. Zibby Pillote BA ’14, who served as editor-in-chief her junior and senior years, said the The Mossy Log laid the foundation for her career in communications and marketing at KinderCare’s Portland headquarters for the past 11 years.
“I miss The Mossy Log, and working for it was the highlight of my time at Lewis & Clark, for sure. Honestly, I credit that experience for my ability to get a job right after graduation and feel confident in my career. Learning design software, collaborating with a team, and honing my writing skills there still shape my work every day.”
—Zibby Pillote BA ’14
For Hannah Merzbach BA ’20, who now works as a regional reporter for Wyoming Public Radio, her experience helped her launch straight into the field.
“I was able to start freelancing right out of college, sending editors my Mossy Log clips,” Merzbach said. “They took me seriously right away, which was so cool—to graduate already having so many stories. I really learned to be a journalist at The Mossy Log, not by majoring in it, but from other great student journalists who taught me as I went.”
Years later, that same collaborative spirit still fuels the newsroom. Today’s editors and writers not only learn from one another but also leave impressions through their writing. Mazor-Hoofien took home first place for “Best Writing” for her opinion piece on the performances of the 2024 presidential candidates. Meanwhile Fendrich won third place for “Best News Story” for her coverage of Lewis & Clark’s varying student-led responses to the anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel in fall 2023.
Achieving high praise for news stories is not easy. Fendrich comments on how ethical reporting plays a huge role in her writing: “We have people who disagree with how we cover certain news-related content because of the neutrality that we really try to uphold in our reportage. At the end of the day, we want to create a space for dialogue but also teach people that there is a certain way we do things within traditional journalism.”
Those standards carry into all subject categories, including the arts. In the “Best Review” category, The Mossy Log swept all three top spots: first place went to Ella Dunn for her take on the horror film The Substance, second to Fendrich for her profile of indie singer Christian Lee Hutson, and third to J. Frank BA ’26 for their review of Radiohead’s Wall of Eyes.
In categories like the arts, creativity shines through the pages. Behind these articles, however, are a plethora of skills that students writing for The Mossy Log carry into all aspects of their lives.
“The Log functions more like a professional newsroom than a student club, and that means the skills you gain—collaboration, negotiation, editing, and even software use—carry far beyond college.”
—Maya Mazor-Hoofien BA ’26
Pursuing any career requires the abilities gained from working for a student newspaper: writing, editing, collaboration, organization, and talking with people to get information.
Students also develop skills in visual composition and design work. Isaac Babus BA ’26 received second place for “Best Feature Photo” for his portrait of the rapper Bas, while the team placed third in “Best Design” (Fall 2024, Issue 5). Meanwhile, The Mossy Log’s digital team, Claire Bakke BA ’25 and Cole McCorkendale BA ’25, won first place for “Best Website.”
Without each role that makes up The Mossy Log, the paper would not be where it is today. This hard work is encouraged not by competitiveness, but also by the sense of community that Lewis & Clark’s newspaper fosters.
“The social dynamic is 50 percent of why people come back every year. That is not to discount the hard work that we do, but the people who I have met through this are some of the most interesting, funny, and hardworking individuals,” said Fencrich. “I absolutely love getting to spend my late nights with the beautiful people who work for The Log.”
The Mossy Log
