2008 Woodie Awards
Nose for news earns award for former Acorn editor
Jessica Glickman
Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: News
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Van Dyk, a reporter for The Daily Record, was awarded the Robert P. Kelly award from the New Jersey Press Association, an organization which supports and connects New Jersey newspapers.
"[The Robert P. Kelly award] is the rookie of the year award," Van Dyk said. "All my competitors were from daily newspapers with a circulation of 60,000 or less, which are most of the newspapers in the state."
Van Dyk noted that the newspaper only got two awards for reporting, and that the rest of the winners were staff members.
Months ago, Assistant Managing Editor of The Daily Record Joe Ungaro Jr. informed Van Dyk she would be nominated for the award. "I get a plaque. I want to hang it in the newsroom, because to me, it means more that in this short period of time, I've left some mark on the paper," she said.
While at Drew, Van Dyk was the editor in chief of The Acorn for two years. Now, she is a municipal reporter, covering four towns in western Morris County.
"It can be tough," she said. "I work with a lot of people who are twice my age, and it means a lot to me to be working on a daily newspaper, and having the responsibility of knowing everything that's going on in my towns. To be 22 years old and doing this is a different level. I feel like now I'm up and coming."
While on the newspaper staff at Drew, Van Dyk gained most of her experience as a reporter. "Drew is like a little town. I had to dig to find stories, and I was put in a lot of situations that I'm put in now. I have to deal with police who don't want to reveal information, and now [because of The Acorn] I have the experience to get around that. I would not be working at a daily paper without having worked on The Acorn."
"She's the most tenacious and passionate journalist I know," Julie Shapiro (CLA '07) said. Shapiro worked with Van Dyk on The Acorn as copy desk chief and is now a reporter for The Villager. "She is dedicated, she works hard and she'll go after a story without getting discouraged. She's a strong leader. She gets people to listen. She made everyone on staff feel appreciated and that their contribution was important. I've learned a lot from watching the way she interviews people and finds stories," she said.
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jayme
posted 2/29/08 @ 8:40 AM EST
bruce is right: meghan really stepped up in her first weeks as acting editor-in-chief. it put a strain on her, as it did all of us, but she never let it show or let it affect her work. (Continued…)
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