Cal State Monterey Bay’s student newspaper, the Otter Realm, has received a $1,500 grant from the California Press Foundation.

The grant can be used to purchase hardware or software, or for upgrades to improve the quality of the publication’s content and delivery. Applicants had to submit copies of two recent issues and an essay describing how the newspaper serves its community.

In the essay, faculty adviser and journalism professor Estella Porras pointed out that while students are practicing online journalism, they "love the print edition and devote long hours to design an attractive paper" that is distributed at 22 campus locations and 10 sites in Monterey County.

The Otter Realm is published six times a semester. It also operates a website where news stories, video and a social media feed are posted. The print edition and the website are produced by students in the Otter Realm workshop and media production lab classes.

According to Dr. Porras, Otter Realm staff members will figure out what the most urgent needs are. High on the list is a camera and lenses.

Members of the 2014-15 staff: editor-in-chief Elizabeth Hensley; production manager Alex Hennessy; advertising and distribution representative Nolan Davis; webmaster Toutoua Vang; multimedia editor Lupe Becerra; and copy editors Johnny Bays and Hailey Vetter.

Earlier story: CSUMB student newspaper honored in eight categories