He didn’t win.

Edwards didn’t even place or show. So why are we mentioning him? Because he came in fourth – and the margin between first and fourth was so razor-thin, we didn’t want him to go unnoticed.

This was our first year for the category of Best Student Media Leader, and we had no idea how to pick a winner. The sad fact is, we couldn’t find another contest in the country that recognizes a college newsroom leader. When we asked around, we heard from other journalism organizations, “How would you even do that?”

So we required a letter signed by at least three staff members, or a YouTube video featuring at least three staffers, attesting to the greatness of their EIC or station manager. Then our judges used those documents to decide the finalists. They interviewed them via Google Hangout and voted.

But if you want to see how good a fourth-place entry looked, watch this video that Edwards’ staff assembled. He didn’t win an Apple, but he’s won something much more crucial – the loyalty of his peers.

So who beat out Edwards? This guy, Albert Fulcher. His story is one of disease, certain death, endurance, censorship, and triumph. Really compelling stuff. Read what Fulcher’s staff wrote about him and weep (literally). Makes you wonder why no one else has done a best Student Media Leader award.

Then again, that’s what the Apple Awards are all about – rewarding college media efforts no one else does. Hence, Best Tweet, Best Sex Column, and Best Newspaper Under 5,000 Circulation, just to name a few.

Thus endeth the sermon for today. Here are your winners…

Best  Facebook  Page

1. The Daily Collegian, Penn State University
2. The Pendulum, Elon University
3. The Lewis Flyer, Lewis University

Best  Tweet

1. Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech
2. The Oklahoma Daily/OUDaily.com,
   University of Oklahoma
3. Distraction Magazine,
   University of Miami

Best  Homepage

1. The Chronicle, Duke University
2. Lake Front, Our Lady of the Lake University
3. Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech

Best  Multimedia  Package

1. Indiana University Student Media, Indiana University
2. The Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech
3. The Baylor Lariat, Baylor University

Best  Entertainment  Broadcast

1. Texas Student Television, The University of Texas at Austin
2. Mayhem Entertainment, Loyola Marymount University
3. Henderson Television (HTV), Henderson State University

Best  Sex  Column

1. The Chronicle, Duke University
2. Golden Gate Xpress, San Francisco State University
3. The Daily Titan, California State University, Fullerton

Best  Newspaper  (5,000  to  10,000  Students)

1. The Ithacan, Ithaca College
2. The Sentinel, North Idaho College
3. The Creightonian, Creighton University

Best  Newspaper  (Under  5,000  Students)

1. The Rice Thresher, Rice University
2. RWU Hawks’ Herald, Roger Williams University
3. The Mirror, Fairfield University

Best  Newspaper  (Over  10,000  Students)

1. Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University
2. Golden Gate Xpress, San Francisco State University
3. InsideVandy, Vanderbilt University

Best  Yearbook  Cover

1. The Kentuckian, University of Kentucky
2. The Tower, Northwest Missouri State
3. Ibis Yearbook, University of Miami

Best  Yearbook  Spread

1. Ibis Yearbook, University of Miami
2. The Tower, Northwest Missouri State
3. The Baylor Lariat, Baylor University

Best  Magazine  Cover

1. The Minaret, The University of Tampa
2. Minero, The University of Texas at El Paso
3. Echo Magazine, Columbia College Chicago

Best  Magazine  Spread

1. The Connector & SCAN Magazine, Savannah College of Art and Design Atlanta
2. Tempo Magazine, Coastal Carolina University
3. Indiana University Student Media, Indiana University

Best  Print  Ad

1. The College VOICE, Mercer County Community College
2. The Daily Titan, California State University, Fullerton
3. Indiana University Student Media, Indiana University

Best  Student  Media  Leader

• Albert Fulcher, Southwestern College Sun, Southwestern College
• Matthew Parrino, The Spectrum, University at Buffalo
• 
Zach Crizer, Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech

We’ve crammed 275 sessions into 53 hours. We have special rooms dedicated to photographers, broadcasters, designers, ad reps, sports journalists, Christian journalists, yearbook people, lit-mag people, and people who love new media but hate the term new media.

We have short sessions for those with ADD and a double session for those who like violent movies. We even have an advisers-only lounge, although we’re not sure if that’s because the advisers don’t want to be around the students or the other way around.

But there’s more to do at NYC12 than just sit in sessions. So here’s your pre-flight checklist for this weekend…

You really need to get out more.  Sign up for our $5 media tours that will let you inside The New York Times newsroom, join the Associated Press morning news meeting, and hang out with the senior creative director at Rolling Stone.

Here’s a tour that costs nothing: Visit Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, headquarters of Occupy Wall Street. An author who has written about the movement will be your guide. Sign up at the Student Press Law Center table in the exhibit hall.

Photographers who leave the hotel can come back with the cover for the NYC13 print program and mobile app. We call it the Take Cover Photo Contest. You’ll have Sunday afternoon to shoot, and you’ll learn the results Monday morning.

That mobile app we mentioned above? It’s free and awesome. The entire convention schedule is on there, and you can create your own list of favorite stuff. It’s available for iPhone, iPad, and Android. Oh, Blackberry, too, although no one seems to care…

Are you willing to trade fashion for food? If so, stop by the Apple Awards Milk-and-Cereal Pajama Party Breakfast. Here’s a list of Apple Award finalists, but you don’t have to be a champion to eat a breakfast like one.

If you do want to be fashionable, it’ll cost you $8. That’s the price of the official NYC12 convention T-shirt. They’re for sale at the Registration Desk in the back of the exhibit hall on the second floor. Cash only, sadly.

There’s a hell of a lot more, of course – like an editing test that can crown you Copy Editor of the Year, an opening keynote that’s completely fake, and a closing keynote from a former abusive drug addict who liked guns and three-ways. There are also roundtables and critiques of all kinds.

But best of all, there are more than 1,000 college students and 200 advisers for you to meet – because if you don’t talk to someone new at NYC12, you’ve wasted your time and travel money. Media is still about people, and this isn’t a convention of accountants. So be brave and say hello a lot.

See you soon.

Journalism, we’re taught, isn’t black and white. It’s many shades of gray.

But these T-shirts are both. And just like some journalists, they’re for sale.

On the opening day of NYC12, our volunteers will wear these official convention T-shirts. So can you – for a measly $8. Why so cheap? Because the sponsors on the back have subsidized the price.

Buy your official NYC12 shirt at the Registration Desk in the exhibit hall on the second floor. But supplies are limited – last year, we sold out halfway through the convention. This is a great way to bring home a souvenir that’s more than a cheesy “I♥NY” shirt.

“You know, it’s not really new media,” one student sneered at us last year. “It’s existed for more than a decade. But you’ve got these rooms called New Media 1 and New Media 2, when they should just be called Media 1 and Media 2.”

We sneered right back…

“Yeah, well, it’s still called New York City, even though it’s been around since 1664. It’s not called York City, is it? So stop being precious and pick one of those new media rooms. Then sit down and learn something, you pseudo tech hipster.”

Actually, we didn’t say that. We thought about it, but what really came out of our mouths was a meek, “Thanks for your opinion, we’ll consider it for NYC12.”

Michele Boyet never considered it. As the NYC12 assistant director, Boyet is in charge of our new media suite of rooms on the Sheraton’s first floor, complete with its own new media foyer. She’s booked so many new media professionals that no one will care what those rooms are called.

“Our sessions are taught by the most innovative pros in media, and they’ll show you how to keep up with and conquer the ever-evolving virtual world of journalism,” says Boyet, whose day job is social media director for a luxury hotel, following a brief career as a homepage producer at a Top 50 daily.

But truth be told, she hates the term new media, too.

“It is an industry term everyone seems to get, but it irks me that some journalists consider the world of online media ‘new’ just because it’s different than the good ol’ days of journalism,” she says. “It’s not ‘new’ at all. Really, it’s the future of journalism.”

The mobile app

Something else that’s not new:  our convention mobile app. We debuted it last year. (Use this QR code to acquire it.) Boyet is in charge of that, too – because she hates the print program.

Three years ago, when she was editor of her college newspaper, Boyet prepped her staff for conventions. As she explains the old-school process…

“Everyone would print out the entire program, whip out their highlighters, and circle every session they planned to attend. As a responsible EIC, I often had each staffer use different colors to make their picks, and I’d keep a master copy – just in case they lost their printout. Which happened every time. It was ridiculous and took forever.”

But with the app, Boyet says, “You can forget the highlighters and spend your time writing a kick-ass story instead of printing a tree-killing program. The coolest – and most useful – part of the app is the favorites feature. As you scroll through the 260-plus sessions, you can flag the ones you want to go to, and then check the list later.”

The Twitter list

OK, this is new: The official NYC12 Twitter List.

“If you’re attending NYC12 and tweeting, send @CMANYC a tweet and let us know,” Boyet says. “We’ll add you to the groovy VIP attendees list on Twitter.”

During the convention, be sure to add the hashtag #NYC12 to your convention-related tweets. That way, you can check them out in the Exhibit Hall as they scroll on our Big-Ass Twitter Board.

But that’s why the Apple Awards exist – to honor college media efforts that might make others cringe (Best Sex Column) or confused (Best Tweet).

So who will get their hands on a trophy this year? Find out at the Apple Awards Milk-and-Cereal Pajama Party Breakfast on Tuesday morning, March 20. Here are your finalists, in alpha order…

Best  Facebook  Page

• The Pendulum, Elon University
• The Lewis Flyer, Lewis University
• The Daily Collegian, Penn State University

Best  Tweet

• Distraction Magazine, University of Miami
• The Oklahoma Daily/OUDaily.com, University of Oklahoma
• Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech

Best  Homepage

• The Chronicle, Duke University
• Lake Front, Our Lady of the Lake University
• Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech

Best  Multimedia  Package

• The Baylor Lariat, Baylor University
• Indiana University Student Media, Indiana University
• The Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech

Best  Entertainment  Broadcast

• Henderson Television (HTV), Henderson State University
• Mayhem Entertainment, Loyola Marymount University
• Texas Student Television, The University of Texas at Austin

Best  Sex  Column

• The Daily Titan, California State University, Fullerton
• The Chronicle, Duke University
• Golden Gate Xpress, San Francisco State University

Best  Newspaper  (5,000  to  10,000  Students)

• The Creightonian, Creighton University
• The Ithacan, Ithaca College
• The Sentinel, North Idaho College

Best  Newspaper  (Under  5,000  Students)

• The Mirror, Fairfield University
• The Rice Thresher, Rice University
• RWU Hawks’ Herald, Roger Williams University

Best  Newspaper  (Over  10,000  Students)

• Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University
• Golden Gate Xpress, San Francisco State University
• InsideVandy, Vanderbilt University

Best  Yearbook  Cover

• The Tower, Northwest Missouri State
• The Kentuckian, University of Kentucky
• Ibis Yearbook, University of Miami

Best  Yearbook  Spread

• The Baylor Lariat, Baylor University
• The Kentuckian, University of Kentucky/li>
• Ibis Yearbook, University of Miami

Best  Magazine  Cover

• Echo Magazine, Columbia College Chicago
• The Minaret, The University of Tampa
• Minero, The University of Texas at El Paso

Best  Magazine  Spread

• Tempo Magazine, Coastal Carolina University
• Indiana University Student Media, Indiana University
• The Connector & SCAN Magazine, Savannah College of Art and Design Atlanta

Best  Print  Ad

• The Daily Titan, California State University, Fullerton
• Indiana University Student Media, Indiana University
• The College VOICE, Mercer County Community College

Best  Student  Media  Leader

• Albert Fulcher, Southwestern College Sun, Southwestern College
• Matthew Parrino, The Spectrum, University at Buffalo
• 
Zach Crizer, Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech

Print isn’t dead. Of course, it’s not exactly alive and kicking, either.

That’s why NYC12 offers you two ways to figure out what the hell is going on: a free mobile app and a free print program.

You can learn more about the NYC12 mobile app right here, or just fetch it right now by using this QR code. To date, a few hundred people have downloaded the iPhone, iPad, and Android versions. It’s also available for Blackberry. (Total downloads for that platform? Two. Doesn’t look good for RIM…)

When you check in at NYC12, you’ll be handed a print program along with your name badge. (Someday, you’ll probably just hang your phone around your neck after downloading a name-tag app.)

But if you want to review the print program now, click here for a crappy low-res PDF. Remember, the print program was out of date the moment it was finished – but the mobile app will be constantly updated with any cancellations, additions, or alterations.

Ken Kobre cried while filming Deadline Every Second. But not because he’s an emotional guy. It was just the tear gas.

Kobre shot and produced this documentary, which follows a dozen Associated Press photographers through nine cities in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. Some of those assignments were technically challenging, like capturing speeding cyclists at the Tour de France.

Other assignments were physically threatening, like shooting in Afghanistan and Pakistan while people are shooting at you.

“The most dangerous situation I faced,” Korbe recalls, “occurred during the clashes between Palestinian youth and Israeli soldiers outside Jerusalem. I wore a flak jacket and helmet, but I didn’t have a gas mask. The tear gas repeatedly burned my eyes as I tried to stay close to the AP photojournalists. Rubber bullets or tear gas canisters injured three different photojournalists the first day I covered the clashes. Luckily, all I suffered were teary, red eyes.”

So why did Kobre spend two years chasing photographers who chase dangerous situations?

“Most people looking at news images have no idea what’s required to get them,” he says. “Photojournalists, particularly wire service photographers, may be shooting a routine news conference one day, then be assigned to cover a major sports event or a natural disaster or conflict situation the next. The photographic skills required from one assignment to the next may be completely different – and so must the mindset.”

(One photographer in Deadline Every Second recounts shooting a fashion show on Sept. 11, 2001, then being told to stop and hurry to the World Trade Center, where he shot people jumping out of the windows.)

Kobre will screen a 30-minute cut of Deadline Every Second at NYC12 and talk about the making of the documentary. Check out his double session in Photo Central from 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m. Sunday, March 18. But Kobre wants to see some writers in the audience, too – so they can appreciate their visual peers.

“Writers and editors don’t always know how photojournalists think,” Kobre says. “Writers can describe a situation, but photojournalists must put themselves in the middle of it. And there’s no follow-up telephone call to fill in missed questions. This documentary helps to reveal what’s going on behind the lens.”

We’ll end with our favorite quote from Deadline Every Second, uttered by AP photographer Oded Balilty as he covered the same clashes where Kobre cried…

“If I wouldn’t be worried, I’d be stupid.”

Stewart lauded the 8-1 decision but said of the Kansas-based religious group…

The Westboro Baptist Church is no more a church than Church’s Fried Chicken is a church. It’s really just one pustulant family spewing perverted religious doctrine from their herpetic ass-like mal-holes who have somehow figured out how not to pay taxes.

…And two weeks later, Westboro Baptist Church was our Monday keynote at NYC11, last year’s spring college media convention.

This year’s Monday keynote? A couple of writers from the staff that wrote Stewart’s richly worded rant. Read more about them in the post below this one, Real good fake news.

That’s all we wanted to say. We just thought it was interesting.

Zhubin Parang and Hallie Haglund have both won Emmy Awards for their writing on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Parang has also written for the parody newspaper The Onion.

So it makes sense that our opening keynote is called How to write the fake news.

Parang and Haglund will describe a typical workday at The Daily Show, what
their job interviews were like, and the weirdest questions they’re asked at parties. (Haglund’s favorite: “Is John Oliver really British?” The answer is yes. He grew up in Liverpool.)

The duo will also share tips for finding funny material in serious news stories, and they’ll tell you what you need to do now, while you’re still in college, to become a fake news writer yourself someday. Or maybe something completely different.

“You’re probably not going to end up in the career you think you will,” Parang warns. “So be open to finding out what you like doing.”

Parang, now 30, took his own advice: Before he joined The Daily Show, he practiced law for a few years. He also writes and stars in viral videos like this one from a couple years ago: BP Spills Coffee. (It’s been viewed 12,246,435 times. That’s Parang as the Halliburton guy at the 1:38 mark.)

Haglund’s advice? “Be nice to everybody, you never know who’s gonna help you get a job.” She, too, heeded her own words. After college, she became a page at NBC studios in Los Angeles. Six months later, she was working at The Daily Show – as a receptionist.

She was later promoted to field researcher, then writer’s assistant, and finally full-fledged staff writer – the youngest of 13 who worked there, and one of only two women.

So if you’re heading home after NYC12 to prepare an April Fool’s issue, newscast, or podcast, you should probably listen to these fake-news experts first.

And by the way, here’s our favorite Onion article ever: Former Editor Can’t Believe Shit College Newspaper Is Printing.

How to write the fake news happens at 3:30 p.m on Monday, March 19, in the Metropolitan East Ballroom.

The photo above?

It was shot by New York Times media reporter Brian Stelter at Occupy Wall Street and posted to his personal Tumbler - which he maintains in addition to his official Media Decoder blog and his Twitter account (110,345 followers) while still writing regular ol’ articles.

So that Occupy Wall Street sign might also describe how professional journalists are staying occupied these days. Seems they gotta be content-generating robots to survive.

Or, as fellow Times reporter (and closing NYC12 keynoter) David Carr famously once said, “I still can’t get over the feeling that Brian Stelter was a robot assembled in the basement of The New York Times to come and destroy me.”

Carr elaborated to Interview magazine…

The robot part is that he moves his elbow and content comes out. While he’s chatting, he’s also tweeting and blogging — and, you know, I’ll think that’s cute, and then the next day he’ll be on the front page with a synthetic piece about the analytics of television or new media, which he also covers. If Brian wasn’t such a decent guy, I would actually slip something into his food or quietly suffocate him with a pillow.

Instead, Stelter will speak at NYC12 a day before Carr. The title of his session: How to get hired by The New York Times before your 22nd birthday.

Stelter is the highlight of our Career Fear Top 5. We’re shutting down most of NYC12 from 11 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. on Monday, March 19, and we’re featuring five sessions about greedily finding jobs in this weird new media world.

Meet the speakers…

NEW MEDIA

Sharon Feder is COO of Mashable and Meghan Peters is its community manager – and if you don’t know what Mashable is, you probably should just pursue a career in parchment-making. (Mashable has 20 million viewers monthly, making it the nation’s largest independent news source covering digital culture.)

BROADCAST

You might not know Jon Leiberman, but you’ve probably heard him and seen him. He’d reported for America’s Most Wanted, Fox News, the Today show, Nancy Grace, Maury Povich, and Howard Stern. He’s covered Cuba, Iraq, presidential politics, and other deadly assignments.

SPORTS

Sports journalism is about more than game coverage of the four major sports. As a senior editor at ESPN The Magazine, Alison Overholt says, “I run the action sports and Olympics departments, direct the investigative reporting team, and edit our sports business coverage.” Not too shabby.

DESIGN

Leah Bailey is deputy art director at Woman’s Day, and Nicole Zigmont is assistant designer at Family Circle. Not that Bailey is old, mind you, but the conceit here is that an experienced designer and a younger one will talk about the particulars of making a living by making other people’s stuff look good.

Read the full session descriptions at www.nyc12.com/fear – and remember, you have nothing to fear but career fear itself.