Panther editor is S.C. Collegiate Journalist of the Year

Olanma Hazel Mang received awards at the S.C. Press Association Annual Meeting in Columbia on April 6. (Panther photo)

The Panther, Claflin’s student newspaper, won four awards in the 2018 Collegiate Division contest sponsored by the S.C. Press Association, the organization of the state’s daily, weekly and collegiate newspapers.

Olanma Hazel Mang was named the S.C. Collegiate Journalist of the Year for colleges/universities with under 5,000 enrollment. The honor is unprecedented as she is the fourth Panther editor in the past five years to win the award. She follows Bradley Harris in 2017, Andres Waters in 2015 and Princess Williams in 2014.

Mang, from Nigeria, is a Claflin senior. Her bylines have appeared beyond The Panther in The Times and Democrat and at the HBCU Times website.

Of her selection for the award, the SCPA stated: “It’s been a full journalistic year for Mang. During the spring semester, she was a primary reporter and planner for The Panther. A highlight of the period was Panther coverage of the 50th anniversary of the Orangeburg Massacre – with a special print edition of The Panther devoted to the anniversary. Mang was the team reporting leader for the project. She also contributed coverage related to the Orangeburg Massacre anniversary to The Times and Democrat.

“Mang is recognized for her enterprise, accuracy and clear writing style. Judges said her portfolio was solid and diverse with good use of multiple sources.”

The Panther also won first and second place in the Special Edition category for its special print and online coverage of the midterm election (first place) and the 50th anniversary of the Orangeburg Massacre (2nd place).

Mang won second place in Best Photograph for her shot of CNN commentator Bakari Sellers at an event surrounding the 50th anniversary of the Orangeburg Massacre.

The awards were presented Saturday at the SCPA annual meeting in Columbia. Mang was a keynote speaker at the collegiate awards ceremony.