Zina Kumok | April 12, 2011
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| Photo by Ryan Dorgan |
| Senior Larry Buchanan, surrounded by font samples, is the Collegiate Journalist of the Year. His first news design work was at age 7, when he reported the family news. |
He was also, at the time, the publisher, reporter and editor. Buchanan started a newspaper describing what was going on his house.
Fifteen years later, Buchanan is still designing for news, and those designs have contributed to his earning this year’s Brook Baker Collegiate Journalist of the Year Award from the Indiana Collegiate Press Association. The award is named in honor of Baker, a student at Vincennes University and a staff member for its newspaper, The Trailblazer. Baker died while a student and the award was created to honor her memory.
Editorial adviser and current ICPA executive director Ruth Witmer said Buchanan’s enthusiasm for student journalism and his generosity led to his nomination.
“He was a natural choice that really fit the bill,” she said. “It’s no wonder that professionals and mentors would nominate him. He’s been unstoppable and inspirational.”
He had his own reasons for why he won.
“I don’t do things the way everyone else does them,” he said. “I try to think about stories not as stories, but as ideas first.” This year, he also started creating visual columns that illustrate a topic in a unique and inviting way.
The ICPA award is the latest in a long line of kudos for Buchanan. As a junior, he won the Student Society for News Design’s Designer of the Year award. He also is a frequent winner in contests sponsored by Society of Professional Journalists and Gold Crowns from Columbia Scholastic Press Association, nearly sweeping the category of design several times.
Witmer said it’s the work he’s done for the Indiana Daily Student, Inside Magazine, their respective website, Canvas literary magazine and the School of Journalism that will be his legacy when he graduates in May.
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| Buchanan's design for the most recent Inside magazine cover. He has won several awards, including CSPA Gold Circles, for his work on the magazine. |
Buchanan said the award reassures him that good design can be appreciated.
“It gives me hope that people who don’t know me or interact with me on a regular basis get what I’m doing,” Buchanan said.
Lecturer Nancy Comiskey praised Buchanan’s character and motivation. She said he designed the print version of 812, The Magazine of Southern Indiana, after she had already filed grades for the semester.
“He gave up part of his winter break to make sure the magazine was as good as it could possibly be,” Comiskey said. Buchanan was on hand at the printer for the press run and created a music video with the footage he shot of the first magazines rolling off the press.
Former Inside editor-in-chief CJ Lotz has worked with Buchanan for several years and predicts he will be “one of the people leading the news revolution.”
“Larry doesn't just ‘make things look pretty,’ he's the energy, thought and creativity behind many projects as well,” Lotz said.
Right now, Buchanan’s only post-graduation plans include staying in Bloomington. In general, he wants to continue fulfilling his journalistic ideals.
“I just want to be doing meaningful, fulfilling work that people understand,” Buchanan said. “That’s really all I can ask for at this point.”
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