FPU student newspaper wins grant for new camera

The Syrinx student newspaper won a $1500 Campus Equipment Grant from the California Press Foundation. The staff will use the grant to purchase a DSLR camera for their newsroom.

Syrinx editors applied for the grant in April 2018 with the endorsement of the Editor of the Fresno Bee, Joe Kieta. Kieta visited FPU on Monday on behalf of the California Press Foundation to present the $1500 check to Editor-in-Chief Leo Loera.

Kieta congratulated The Syrinx staff members on winning a first place award for Best Newspaper at the California College Media Association in March 2018, and he encouraged the students to use the grant to continue to tell relevant stories focused on the FPU community.

“President Trump may not read your newspaper, but your university president does,” Kieta said. “You have a wonderful opportunity to tell stories that matter to the people in your community.”

The California Press Foundation Campus Equipment Grant goes toward equipment purchases that improve the quality of the content and delivery of student publications in California. The Foundation gives out approximately a total of $15,000 in Equipment Grants each year in amounts ranging from $300 to $1500 per award.  

The Syrinx media adviser, Adam Schrag, Ph.D., and then-Editor-in-Chief, Laurel Samuelson (BA ‘18), wrote the grant proposal for The Syrinx in April 2018. This is the first time The Syrinx has applied for the grant. Their proposal highlighted the need for a camera in order for Syrinx students to create better visual stories and potentially branch into video content.

“We have always depended on our photo editor to supply their own camera equipment,” Schrag said. “This grant helps us lower the barrier of entry into photojournalism for FPU students and hopefully leads to great visual storytelling.”

Part of the mission of the California Press Foundation, according to their website, is to assure the future of California journalism through encouragement of education and to provide a social and educational forum for its members.