The Observer staff won 17 awards at the 2023 Indiana Collegiate Press Association (ICPA) awards, including second place for Division I Newspaper of the Year.
The staff won first place in the Sports Page Design category for their Irish Insider post-game issue of the Notre Dame vs. Clemson football game. The Observer staff also won second and third place for Best Staff Editorial for the Editorial Board’s January 2022 editorial about supporting non-Catholic students and the October 2022 editorial about combating sexual violence to create a safe campus community, respectively.
This year, the News Department won two awards. Former Assistant Managing Editor Genevieve Coleman and New Writer Editor Liam Price won second place in the News Story category for their October 2022 reporting on students calling for accountability and prevention following social media posts about alleged sexual assault cases on campus. Managing Editor Ryan Peters won third place in the Continuous Coverage of a Single Story category for his coverage on the University’s revised plans for parking lots on Palmer Street after residents raised their concerns.
Viewpoint Editor Claire Lyons won third place in the Entertainment Story category for her feature on Whisk, a Notre Dame indie band. Maggie Klaers won first place for her Feature Page Design that accompanied the story about Whisk.
In the Entertainment Column category, Lyons' review of PEMCo’s fall musical "Bare: A Pop Opera" took second place and Angela Mathew, Manager of Talent & Inclusion, took third place for her review of Tess Gunty’s novel "The Rabbit Hutch."
Klaers also won third place in the Illustration category for her illustration "Irish whip Tigers."
In the Sports Department, Sports Editor Andrew McGuinness’ June 2022 reporting from Knoxville, Tennessee about the baseball team advancing to the College World Series was awarded second place in the Sports News Story category.
In the Viewpoint Department, columnist Ellie Konfrst was recognized for her piece on class and wealth on campus which took first place for Opinion Columns.
Photographer Max Petrosky took first place for his photo essay of Notre Dame men’s basketball vs. Duke. Petrosky also won second place in the Feature Photography category for his photo of clearing snow off a field.
Klaers and Ryan Vigilante rounded out the awards with their first place Irish Insider ahead of the BYU Shamrock Series game in the Special Section Front Cover category. Photographer Gracie Lee, Klaers and Vigilante also won third place for their Irish Insider for the 2022 Fencing National Championships.
