After receiving 11 awards at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) for the 2023-24 year, our editorial board strived to improve. That’s when our 2024-25 Slack chat name was born.
The Redeem Team had three main goals going into this year: To incorporate video elements along with our coverage, win more awards and become the number one news source for Texas State and San Marcos.
At the start, we hit the ground running, covering countless stories and protests following the 2024 election. We delivered live coverage of the local elections and produced a 14-page special issue, breaking down every candidate and key issue to help readers make informed choices at the ballot box.
That same week, when the official street preachers arrived on campus, The Star was first on the scene. Our reporting didn’t just inform the community — it became a source for national fact-checkers like Snopes. Our editors stayed on the ground until the situation deescalated, interviewing students, campus authorities and counter protesters to bring our readers clear, balanced coverage of the unfolding events.
Compared to other Division 1 schools, Texas State is one of the only schools that lacks a broadcast program for students. In October, The University Star was given the opportunity to be the first outside student media group to use Live Oak Studios.
Since then, Star News Network, The University Star’s broadcast section, has produced six newscasts. Since its introduction, the first newscast received 3rd place at TIPA, and the second an honorable mention.
When spring came, we didn’t slow down. We launched “Inside the Capitol,” a semester-long column cutting through the noise of a chaotic legislative session, from school vouchers to higher education bills, so you could see exactly how state politics impact your life.
We’ve reported on executive orders reshaping ICE enforcement and education policy. Most recently, we uncovered how the federal government’s crackdown is revoking immigration status for international students at Texas State, along with a Main Point stressing the importance of safety for international students — and we’re not done yet.
Despite some changes throughout the year, our team worked well together, and we proved that during awards season. At the Region 8 Society of Professional Journalists conference, The Star took home 10 Mark of Excellence awards. At the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Conference, The Star earned 28 total awards.
While it’s nice to be rewarded for hard work, the true reward comes from our dedicated audience, without whom there would be no paper to put out every Tuesday. As an editorial board, we see the importance of our work, and we’re glad that importance translates to readers.
Though we had many goals as an editorial board this year, we made sure the readers stayed at the forefront of our minds. With each story written, every production night that ran long and every moment shared in the newsroom, we thought of you. Our audience.
