Shannon Ryker | April 7, 2009
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| Photo by Connor Wollensak |
| Michael Sanserino accepted his Collegiate Journalist of the Year award during ICPA’s conference March 28. |
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His passion has proven worthwhile, as the 2008-09 school year has earned him multiple writing awards, the most recent of which is the at the Indiana Collegiate Press Association’s Brook Baker Collegiate Journalist of the Year Award, presented during the ICPA conference here March 28.
But Sanserino isn’t taking much credit.
“This award is a reflection of what everybody at the IDS has done, not just what I have done,” he said.
The IDS walked away with the majority of first place and "best of" honors at the ceremony, but Sanserino says he doesn’t like to take all the praise.
“It’s not just because of me that the IDS won,” said Sanserino. “It’s because of all the people we have here.”
The Collegiate Journalist of the Year Award is given annually at the ICPA awards program in memory of Brook Baker, a student journalist at Vincennes University.
Adjunct lecturer Nancy Comiskey nominated Sanserino for the award in January. She worked with Sanserino two years ago during her tenure as interim director of student media, and he was in her J351 Newspaper Editing and J201 Reporting, Writing and Editing II classes. Comiskey says Sanserino always bought something unique to her classes.
“He never was afraid to challenge something I said and he helped keep the conversation lively within the classroom,” she said.
Comiskey says Sanserino is one of the top students she has ever worked with. And his array of awards and honors shows that others agree with here. Sanserino won the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation’s Thomas Keating Feature Writing Contest twice, the first time for a repeat winner in the contest’s 22-year history. He also won the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation, one of seven students from around the nation to snag one of the prizes worth $7,500 toward education expenses.
“Winning the Tom Keating competition in 2007 and 2008, something that has never been done before, speaks for his talent alone,” said Comiskey.
Sanserino has done his fair share of writing and in his college career. He has worked for the IDS since his freshman year as a sports reporter. He later became the sports editor and managing editor.
When he isn’t pounding out stories for the IDS, Sanserino is working hard for other newspapers. He interned for the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, South Bend Tribune, and St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times. The St. Petersburg internship was part of the prize for winning the Poynter Scholarship and Internship in 2008.
Sanserino’s passion for journalism blossomed in high school, where he was the editor-in-chief of their newspaper his junior and senior years at South Side High School in Fort Wayne.
In the past, he has told freshman orientation groups his own story of applying to the IDS while attending his own orientation the summer before he entered IU. In encouraging students to jump into writing by working at the IDS, he joked that he started as a reporter the week before classes started, before he had attended even one class at IU.
During those years at the IDS, he expanded his talents to managing, where Comiskey and Director of Student Media Ron Johnson say he excels.
“The editor of the IDS has enormous responsibilities,” said Johnson. “Michael has handled all those responsibilities with a great deal of professionalism.”
Johnson also says Sanserino’s commitment to ethical, balanced, responsible and fair journalism is what makes him a good editor.
“We really need more people like Michael Sanserino,” said Johnson. “He is committed to getting news and information to readers in a responsible and thorough way.”
Natalie Avon, a junior who will be IDS editor-in-chief in the fall, has worked with Sanserino since her freshman year at IU. She says Sanserino’s judgment, writing and reporting experience makes new writers feel comfortable at the IDS.
“Mike is a very strong leader,” said Avon. “He only makes a decision after debating all of the pros and cons of an issue. I have never worked with somebody who is so confident and deliberate.”
Comiskey says she noticed Sanserino’s professionalism during the Kelvin Sampson controversy, the period when the former IU basketball coach’s NCAA transgressions surfaced and later when the coach was fired.
“Michael never lost his sense of professionalism during it,” said Comiskey. “His coverage was in par with any professional journalist I have ever worked with.”
For aspiring journalists, Sanserino recommends starting early.
“Always work to prove yourself,” said Sanserino. “If someone puts faith in you, and says ‘you can do this,’ surprise them with their investment.”
After graduating, Sanserino will move to San Francisco for a 10-week internship at the Wall Street Journal. Beyond the internship though, he says he just hopes to get a job.
“After the 10-week internship, I don’t doubt I will be unemployed,” he said. “I just want to go somewhere that will pay me. You can’t be very selective.”
He says he always wants, “do what newspapers do.” If the focus of newspapers changes to the Web or to magazines, Sanserino says that’s where he wants to be.
“I want to talk to people who have a story to tell,” said Sanserino. “The best part in journalism is knowing that without you, people wouldn’t have their story told.”
