For immediate release

Contacts:
Lauren Rochester, SPJ Awards Coordinator, 317-927-8000 ext. 210, lrochester@spj.org
Abby Henkel, SPJ Communications Manager, 317-927-8000 ext. 215, ahenkel@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists is pleased to announce the Region 5 Mark of Excellence Award winners for the 2011 calendar year. The Mark of Excellence Awards honor the best collegiate journalism in the U.S.

SPJ Region 5 includes Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. This year, the contest received more than 4,000 entries across SPJ’s 12 regions.

The honorees were awarded certificates on April 14 during the Region 5 SPJ Spring Conference held at the Marriott Downtown in Indianapolis, Ind. First-place regional winners will advance to the national round of judging. National winners will be announced in late April.

The winners are listed below. For additional information on the Mark of Excellence awards, please contact Awards Coordinator Lauren Rochester at lrochester@spj.org.

REGION 5 WINNERS

Four-year colleges

Breaking News Photography
• First Place: Five arrested at Kelley protest – by Mark Felix, Indiana University
• Second Place: Fire near campus sends 12 to hospital – by Lauren Pirritano, Loyola University Chicago
• Third Place: Election night disappointment – by Bartosz Brzezinski, DePaul University

Feature Photography
• First Place: Train 7473 – by Bartosz Brzezinski, DePaul University
• Second Place: Tumaini – by Corinne Chin, Northwestern University
• Third Place: No award*

General News Photography
• First Place: Elmwood Estate – by Samantha Toy, Eastern Kentucky University
• Second Place: Firefighter funeral – by Dylan Buell, Ball State University
• Third Place: Peking acrobats – by Elizabeth Wheeler, University of Indianapolis

Photo Illustration
• First Place: The very depth of low – by Jerry Englehart, Jr., Western Kentucky University
• Second Place: Inside the SGA budget – by Jillian McCarter, Butler University
• Third Place: Dance away – by Katelin Carter, Ball State University

Sports Photography
• First Place: Heartbreak in Houston – by Maria Porter, Butler University
• Second Place: Biting back – by Maria Porter, Butler University
• Third Place: For Ball State – by Dylan Buell, Ball State Universit

Best Student Magazine
• First Place: North by Northwestern Magazine, Northwestern University
• Second Place: ECHO Magazine, Columbia College Chicago
• Third Place: Ball Bearings, Ball State University

Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University
• Second Place: Ball State Daily News, Ball State University
• Third Place: No award*

Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: The Butler Collegian, Butler University
• Second Place: Loyola Phoenix, Loyola University Chicago
• Third Place: The DePaulia, DePaul University

Breaking News Reporting
• First Place: When in Rome: Riots hit Europe as students study abroad – by Dominic Zinn, DePaul University
• Second Place: Heartbreak in Houston: Bulldogs lose championship title to UConn Huskies – by Steven Peek, Butler University
• Third Place: UMass professor discusses history, effectiveness of brothel law – by Audrey Cheng, Northwestern University

Editorial Writing
• First Place: Rhett Umphress, Benjamin Dashley and Sarah Boswell, Ball State University
• Second Place: The Butler Collegian staff, Butler University
• Third Place: Loyola Phoenix staff, Loyola University Chicago

Feature Writing
• First Place: Family, friends of WKU graduate build foundation after son's suicide – by Emily Patton, Western Kentucky University
• Second Place: The man behind @MayorEmanuel talks fake Twitter, book deal – by Patrick Svitek, Northwestern University
• Third Place: Chicago's strip search: People are putting bacon in everything – by Cheryl Waity, DePaul University

General Column Writing
• First Place: Benjamin Dashley, Ball State University
• Second Place: Samantha Booth, Northwestern University
• Third Place: Evie Salomon, Indiana University

General News Reporting
• First Place: WKU hires Emslie, Baylis' partners – by Jonathan Lintner, Western Kentucky University
• Second Place: Under the influence – by Tahera Rahman, Yara Shams, Nathan Lurz and Dominic Fante, Loyola University Chicago
• Third Place: The Parking Series: Students, faculty, staff left with permit, no parking – by Hayleigh Colombo, Butler University

In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: Dirty dumpster on campus? – by Stanislav Golovchuk, Loyola University Chicago
• Second Place: Flooding poses problem for campus officials – by Christopher Goff and Kyler Naylor, Butler University
• Third Place: Investigation into Ball State's Title IX compliance continues – by Daniel Sipocz, Ball State University

Sports Column Writing
• First Place: Julien Zeng, DePaul University
• Second Place: Brendan Bond, Loyola University Chicago
• Third Place: Rhett Umphress, Ball State University

Sports Writing
• First Place: Baltimore lawyer making a name as pro boxer – by Robbie Levin, Northwestern University
• Second Place: Brotherly love: Freshman Gordon devoting basketball career to twin brother – by Cole Claybourn, Western Kentucky University
• Third Place: Women's volleyball: Shondell goes beyond coaching – by Andrew Mishler, Ball State University

Nonfiction Magazine Article
• First Place: Runner's high – by Rachel Stark, Indiana University
• Second Place: The search for love – by Nolan Feeney, Northwestern University
• Third Place: Brave new world – by Rachel Hoffman, Northwestern University

Best Affiliated Web Site
• First Place: Ball Bearings (www.ballbearingsonline.com), Ball State University
• Second Place: The DePaulia Online (www.depauliaonline.com), DePaul University
• Third Place: No award*

Best Independent Online Student Publication
• First Place: North by Northwestern (www.northbynorthwestern.com), Northwestern University
• Second Place: The Red Line Project (www.redlineproject.org), DePaul University
• Third Place: No award*

Online Feature Reporting
• First Place: In the action – by Sam Aune, Nick Ritenour, Jared Windler and Valerie Carnevale, Ball State University
• Second Place: Handling the rough game: The slow evolution of sports medicine – by Sara J. Martinez, Northwestern University
• Third Place: 10 remember 9/11: Firefighter Steve Serb – by Holly Pennebaker, DePaul University

Online In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: TIFs in Chicago – by ChicagoTalks staff, Columbia College Chicago
• Second Place: 10 Remember 9/11 – by The Red Line Project's 10 Remember 9/11 team, DePaul University
• Third Place: Campus security – by ChicagoTalks staff, Columbia College Chicago

Online News Reporting
• First Place: Chicago blizzard 2011 coverage – by The Red Line Project staff, DePaul University
• Second Place: Chicago mayoral inauguration coverage – by AnnCatherine Brady, Bree Tuch and Blythe Meyer, DePaul University
• Third Place: African Children's Choir shares tradition with North America – by Amelia Chong, Indiana University Bloomington

Online Opinion and Commentary
• First Place: Sam Kraft, DePaul University
• Second Place: Rachel Metea, Michael Collins and Peter Dziedzic, DePaul University
• Third Place: Andrew Cho, Northwestern University

Online Sports Reporting
• First Place: Wildcat basketball preview 2011-2012 – by North By Northwestern staff, Northwestern University
• Second Place: NCAA tournament coverage – by The Butler Collegian staff, Butler University
• Third Place: Chicago's young athletes deal with life in the limelight – by Alex Soulier and Lauren Klopmeyer, DePaul University

Editorial Cartooning
• First Place: Abby Gross, University of Indianapolis
• Second Place: Matt Iammarino, DePaul University
• Third Place: No award*

Radio Feature Reporting
• First Place: Coffee roaster – by Jill Disis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Second Place: Rockome Gardens – by Hilary Osborn, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Third Place: Pipe organ builders – by Chloe Pistorius, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Radio In-depth Reporting
• First Place: Kentucky ag heavily dependent on migrant labor – by Cassidy Herrington, University of Kentucky
• Second Place: DePauw University's party image – by Kelsey Dentinger, Ashley Isaac, Kelly Reeves and Taylor Buchanan, DePauw University
• Third Place: Investigation of Marsa Gipson death – by Brian Alkire, Anna Olson, Kelsey Christensen and Jordan Davis, DePauw University

Radio News Reporting
• First Place: Prescription drug recycling – by Michelle Fleishman, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Second Place: Coups for troops – by Joseph Mathis, Western Kentucky University
• Third Place: Middle school leadership program – by Rose-Ann Aragon, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Radio Sports Reporting
• First Place: Redbird basketball preview – by Chris Highland, Illinois State University
• Second Place: Monon Bell football game pregame show 2011 – by Ryan Foutty, DePauw University
• Third Place: Heating up with Bloomington's new team – by Christen Roberts, Illinois State University

Best All-Around Television Newscast
• First Place: Good Day DePaul, DePaul University
• Second Place: WEIU-TV News Watch, Eastern Illinois University
• Third Place: News Channel 12 WKU, Western Kentucky University

Television Feature Reporting
• First Place: Triple amputee finishes 10K – by Tommy Parker, Western Kentucky University
• Second Place: 2011 Indiana University World's Fare – by Qixin Wang, Indiana University
• Third Place: Pipe organ maker – by Caroline Pahl, University of Illinois

Television In-depth Reporting
• First Place: Central Illinois honor flight – by Caroline Pahl and Spencer Turkin, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign
• Second Place: Open records – by Jacqui Powell, Western Kentucky University
• Third Place: No award*

Television General News Reporting
• First Place: Medal of Honor – by Tommy Parker, Western Kentucky University
• Second Place: Occupy Chicago coverage – by Rashanah Baldwin and Miguel Torres, DePaul University
• Third Place: 9/11 tenth anniversary coverage – by Courtney Sturgeon, DePaul University

Television Breaking News Reporting
• First Place: Hope after the storm – by Elizabeth Schulze, Northwestern University
• Second Place: NCAA stipend – by Jeremy Brown, Western Kentucky University
• Third Place: No award*

Television Sports Reporting
• First Place: WKU home win photo essay – by Andrew Bennett, Western Kentucky University
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Television Sports Photography
• First Place: Marine turned cheerleader – by Zack Ryle, Western Kentucky University
• Second Place: WKU football helmet stickers – by Alix Casper-Peak, Western Kentucky University
• Third Place: No award*


Two-year and community colleges

General News Reporting
• First Place: Board of Trustees election coverage – by Nick Davison, College of DuPage
• Second Place: JJC culinary team takes home top honors – by Kat Boehle, Joliet Junior College
• Third Place: Supplemental Instruction and College Dials Up Internet Capacity – by Elise Anderson, College of DuPage

Editorial Writing
• First Place: Nick Davison, College of DuPage
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Best Affiliated Web Site
• First Place: Prospectus News (www.prospectusnews.com), Parkland College
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Sports Photography
• First Place: Shrugged off – by Kat Boehle, Joliet Junior College
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Photo Illustration
• First Place: Arbor vitae – by Chris Johnson, College of DuPage
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*


* Mark of Excellence Awards honor the best in student journalism. Judges are not required to select first, second or third place winners.

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. For more information about SPJ, please visit www.spj.org.

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