FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Lauren Rochester, SPJ Director of Awards, 317.927.8000 ext. 210, awards@spj.org
Christine DiGangi, SPJ Communications Coordinator, 317.927.8000 ext. 205, cdigangi@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS — The Society of Professional Journalists gladly recognizes the 2012 Mark of Excellence Awards winners from Region 12. The MOE Awards honor the best of collegiate journalism from a calendar year.

SPJ’s Region 12 comprises Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee, and honorees received award certificates April 6 at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. First-place winners will move on to the national MOE competition among category winners from the 12 SPJ regions.

National winners will be notified in the late spring and will be recognized at the Excellence in Journalism 2013 (EIJ13) conference in Southern California, Aug. 24 to 26. The awards are judged by professionals with at least three years of journalism experience.

The awards honor the best in student journalism. As such, judges were directed to choose only those entries which they felt were outstanding work worthy of such an honor. If the judges determined that none of the entries rose to the level of excellence, no award was given. Any category not listed has no winner.

School divisions are based on student enrollment, which includes both graduate and undergraduate enrollment: Large schools have more than 10,000 students, medium have 9,999 to 5,001 students, and small have fewer than 5,000 students.

See the list below for details on the Region 12 winners, and direct any MOE Awards questions to Director of Awards Lauren Rochester: awards@spj.org and 317.927.8000 ext. 210.

NEWSPAPERS
Breaking News Reporting (Large)
First Place: “Man arrested in bomb scare that emptied campus” by Brian Sibille, Kevin Thibodeaux & Josh Bergeron, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge
Second Place: “Petrino Stable After Accident,” by Jimmy Carter, University of Arkansas
Third Place: “Mathieu, Jefferson taken into custody,” by Chandler Rome, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge

Breaking News Reporting (Small)
First Place: “Administration stuns Xavier community with layoffs, mandatory closure,” by Cassie Smith, Xavier University of Louisiana

General News Reporting (Large)
First Place: “What Is World Religion?” by Jennifer Nassar, University of Mississippi
Second Place: “Women Voters Fear Backward Thinking,” by Tanya Giraldo, Arkansas State University
Third Place: “Overcrowding in classrooms,” by Lea Ciskowski, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge

General News Reporting (Medium)
First Place: “Suspension creates backlash; Orchesis in crisis,” by Justin Madden, Grambling State University
Second Place: “Tech Talk opinion article produces heated backlash,” by Justin Madden, Grambling State University
Third Place: “Natatorium Referendum,” by Cole Avery, University of Louisiana at Monroe

General News Reporting (Small)
First Place: “Should I stay or should I go?” by Shannon Donaldson, Loyola University New Orleans
Second Place: “Students help Venezuelans vote,” by Aaren Gordon, Loyola University New Orleans

In-Depth Reporting (Large)
First Place: “The Last of the Southern Democrats,” by Jack Suntrup, University of Arkansas

Feature Writing (Large)
First Place: “An Arkansas DREAMer: One Man's Journey,” by Eddie Gregg, University of Arkansas
Second Place: “Men of ‘Duck Dynasty’ explain southern stereotypes,” by Addie Martin, Louisiana Tech University
Third Place: “Iconic Theater,” by Zachary LaSalle, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Feature Writing (Small)
First Place: “N.O. film industry breaks out,” by Shannon Donaldson, Loyola University New Orleans
Second Place: “Man behind the pastries trained with the best,” by Lauren Irwin, Loyola University New Orleans
Third Place: “Ain't no mountain high enough,” by Shannon Donaldson, Loyola University New Orleans

Sports Writing (Large)
First Place: “Evolution of the college football player,” by Luke Johnson, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge
Second Place: “Undefeated: 50 Years Later,” by Adam Ganucheau, University of Mississippi
Third Place: “Nkemdiche making a name for himself,” by Austin Miller, University of Mississippi

Sports Writing (Medium)
First Place: “Every point counts,” by Tierra Smith, Grambling State University
Second Place: “Rowdy the Cowboy,” by Jordan Gribble, McNeese State University
Third Place: “Going pro; G-Men make it to NFL,” by Tierra Smith, Grambling State University

Sports Writing (Small)
First Place: “Volleyball pulls out the big guns,” by Hasani Grayson, Loyola University New Orleans
Second Place: “Wolfpack becomes Wolf Pack,” by Karl Gommel, Loyola University New Orleans
Third Place: “Volleyball storming to a good start,” by Karl Gommel, Loyola University New Orleans

Editorial Writing (Large)
First Place: LSU Reveille Editorial Board, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge

General Column Writing (Large)
First Place: Gordon Brillon, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge
Second Place: Amie Rolland, Louisiana Tech University
Third Place: Tim Abram, University of Mississippi

General Column Writing (Medium)
First Place: Jeremy Smith, Grambling State University
Second Place: Cole Avery, University of Louisiana at Monroe
Third Place: Danielle Savage, Grambling State University

Sports Column Writing (Large)
First Place: Luke Johnson, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge
Second Place: Micah Bedard, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge

Sports Column Writing (Medium)
First Place: Alexis Hosticka, Harding University
Second Place: Kevin Keise, Grambling State University

Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper
First Place: LSU Daily Reveille, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge
Second Place: The Daily Mississippian, University of Mississippi

Best All-Around Non Daily Student Newspaper (Large)
First Place: The Tech Talk, Louisiana Tech University
Second Place: The Echo, University of Central Arkansas

Best All-Around Non Daily Student Newspaper (Medium)
First Place: The Gramblinite, Grambling State University

MAGAZINE
Non-Fiction Magazine Article
First Place: “Beyond the Rubble: Surviving the Tornado,” by Sarah Guinn, University of Arkansas
Second Place: “When Duty Calls,” by Vannia Zelaya, Loyola University New Orleans
Third Place: “Redemption Denied,” by Jimmy Carter, University of Arkansas

Best Student Magazine
First Place: The Flood of the Century, University of Mississippi
Second Place: Arkansas Traveler Magazine, University of Arkansas
Third Place: Legacy, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge

ART/GRAPHICS
Breaking News Photography (Large)
First Place: “Dierks Bentley concert,” by Austin McAfee, University of Mississippi
Second Place: “Power outage,” by Staci Vandagriff, Arkansas State University

General News Photography (Large)
First Place: “The Road to Belize,” by Jajuan McNeil, University of Mississippi
Second Place: “Indian Dancers,” by Brianna Paciorka, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge

General News Photography (Medium)
First Place: “Nate White, who plays Joseph in the musical ...,” by Ashel Parsons, Harding University

Feature Photography (Large)
First Place: “The Flood of the Century,” by Jared Burleson, University of Mississippi
Second Place: “Tent Cities,” by Whitney Green, University of Arkansas

Feature Photography (Medium)
First Place: “Uplifted during Impact,” by Ashel Parsons, Harding University

Feature Photography (Small)
First Place: “Take Back the Night,” by Wadner Pierre, Loyola University New Orleans
Second Place: “Blown Away,” by Sam Winstrom, Loyola University New Orleans

Sports Photography (Large)
First Place: “Streak Snapped,” by Thomas Graning, University of Mississippi
Second Place: “Ole Miss Invitational Track Meet,” by Austin McAfee, University of Mississippi
Third Place: “Making a statement,” by Christopher Martin, Southeastern Louisiana University

Sports Photography (Medium)
First Place: “Losing makes quarterback cry,” by Ciley Carrington, Grambling State University
Second Place: “The alumni game on Oct. 20 ...,” by Ashel Parsons, Harding University

Editorial Cartooning (Large)
First Place: Josh Clark, University of Mississippi

RADIO
Radio News Reporting
First Place: “Ole Miss election night,” by Nicholas Andrews, University of Mississippi
Second Place: “CODOFIL bounces back from unexpected budget cut,” by Elizabeth Rose, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Third Place: “TSU Shooting,” by Steven Quinn Panganiban, Tennessee State University

Radio Feature
First Place: “Halloween Night at 13th Gate,” by Marylee Williams, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge
Second Place: “Pajama Game,” by Liz Komoromi, Lipscomb University

Best All-Around Radio Newscast
First Place: Louisiana Focus, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Second Place: Lumination Radio, Lipscomb University

TELEVISION
Television Breaking News Reporting
First Place: “Live from Biloxi-Tracking Isaac,” by Margaret Ann Morgan & Stephen Quinn, University of Mississippi
Second Place: “Isaac Evacuation,” by Taylor Frey, Louisiana State University

Television General News Reporting
First Place: “Miss U of A DWI,” by Caleb Rountree, University of Arkansas
Second Place: “The Road to Belize,” by Aubry Killion & Margaret Ann Morgan, University of Mississippi
Third Place: “Smartphone Safety,” by Haley Kropog, Louisiana State University

Television Feature
First Place: “Locally Produced Foods Important to Lafayette County, Mississippi,” by Betsy Lynch & Ashley Lance, University of Mississippi
Second Place: “Civil War Reenactment,” by Christi Welter, University of Arkansas
Third Place: “Extras,” by Hannah Martin, Louisiana State University

Television In-Depth Reporting
First Place: “Engineers Aid Village in Togo,” by Norman Seawright, University of Mississippi

Television Sports Reporting
First Place: “Senior Day,” by Daniel Brown, Louisiana State University
Second Place: “Saints-Chargers Analysis,” by Damon Cutno, Southeastern Louisiana University
Third Place: “LSU Family,” by Seth Lewis, Louisiana State University

Television News Photography
First Place: “Food Desert,” by Seth Lewis, Louisiana State University
Second Place: “Texting While Parenting,” by Chrissy Carter, Southeastern Louisiana University
Third Place: “Hurricane Isaac Recovery,” by Chrissy Carter, Southeastern Louisiana University

Television Feature Photography
First Place: “Old Town Soda Shop,” by Marshall Courtney, Southeastern Louisiana University
Second Place: “Master Duck Carver,” by Allen Cutrer, Southeastern Louisiana University

Television Sports Photography
First Place: “LSU Family,” by Seth Lewis, Louisiana State University
Second Place: “Gymnastics Freshman,” by Jacob Krasnow, Louisiana State University

Best All-Around Television Newscast
First Place: Northshore News, Southeastern Louisiana University
Second Place: NewsWatch Ch. 99, University of Mississippi

ONLINE
Online News Reporting (Large)
First Place: “Lawyer of UT student denies allegations of alcoholic enema incident,” by Jennifer Brake, University of Tennessee
Second Place: “Dunn wins three golds in Poland,” by Derek J. Amaya & Chad Merritt, Louisiana Tech University
Third Place: “Funeral goes undisturbed, Westboro no show,” by Anthony Cepedes & Megan Clifton, University of Tennessee

Online News Reporting (Small)
First Place: “Middle East violence rooted deeper than anti-Islam film, professors say,” by Emily Snell, Lipscomb University

Online Feature Reporting (Large)
First Place: “The Allure of Decay,” by Michelle La Vone, University of Tennessee
Second Place: “Poets Compete in Fayetteville,” by Whitney Green, University of Arkansas
Third Place: “Artists Channels Sobriety Through Career,” by Tina Parker, University of Arkansas

Online Feature Reporting (Small)
First Place: “Hannah Harvey: Telling Tales of Coalminers, Gaelic Fairies and More,” by Sarah Cumming
Second Place: “Habitat for Humanity builds new home for Lipscomb graduate from Sudan,” by Emily Snell, Lipscomb University

Online In-Depth Reporting (Large)
First Place: “Steering to Success,” by Clint Fullen, University of Arkansas

Online Sports Reporting (Large)
First Place: “Preview: Bears vs. Panthers,” by Lee Hogan, University of Central Arkansas
Second Place: “Evolution of a football player,” by Luke Johnson & Bryan Stewart, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge
Third Place: “Extreme Parkour,” by Raney Johnson, Derek Amaya & Chad Merritt, Louisiana Tech University

Best Affiliated Web Site (Large)
First Place: LSU Daily Reveille online, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge
Second Place: The Daily Mississippian online, University of Mississippi

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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