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 1. The MOE Awards honor the best of collegiate journalism from a calendar year.

SPJ’s Region 1 comprises Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and central and eastern Pennsylvania. Honorees received award certificates the weekend of April 12 at the Region 1 Spring Conference at Rutgers University. 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 Excellence in Journalism 2013 (EIJ13) 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 1 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: “Jerry Sandusky convicted on 45 counts of child sexual abuse” by Mindy Szkaradnik, Penn State University
Second Place: “Bellevue Hospital Evacuates Patients” by Caroline Chen, Columbia University
Third Place: “End of an Era” by Gavan Gideon, Ben Prawdzik and Tapley Stephenson, Yale University

Breaking News Reporting (Medium)
First Place: “After Brook St. attack, senior chases down, catches mugger” by Lucy Feldman, Brown University
Second Place: “Commencement Move Draws Mixed Reaction” by Dorianna Valerio, Long Island University, LIU Post campus
Third Place: “Vicious Virus: Overnight norovirus outbreak sickens dozens” by Rachel Stengel and Katie Zeck, Rider University

Breaking News Reporting (Small)
First Place: “Ann Coulter Coverage” by Ian McKenna, Fordham College at Lincoln Center
Second Place: “Affordable Excellence” by Amanda Newman, Roger Williams University
Third Place: “Mega storm closes campus” by Amanda Gipson, Penn State University

General News Reporting (Large)
First Place: “A Look at Nassau and Suffolk County’s Layoff Casualties” by Francis Berkman, Hofstra University
Second Place: “San Francisco police chief to be nation’s highest paid, for overseeing 14th-largest force” by Christopher Peak, Yale University
Third Place: “Sandusky's neighbors reflect on neighborhood changes” by Kristin Stoller, Penn State University

General News Reporting (Medium)
First Place: “Commencement Move Draws Mixed Reaction” by Dorianna Valerio, Long Island University, LIU Post campus
Second Place: “Let's Get Fiscal: Unexpected budget shortfall leads to departmental cuts” by Katie Zeck, Joe Petrizzo, Rachel Stengel and Jen Maldonado, Rider University
Third Place: “Government 1310 Cheating Scandal” by The Harvard Crimson Staff, Harvard University

General News Reporting (Small)
First Place: “Ann Coulter Coverage” by Ian McKenna, Fordham College at Lincoln Center
Second Place: Gilmour’s paid sabbatical amid proposal of cuts disturb faculty” by Kirstin Cook, Wilkes University

In-Depth Reporting (Large)
First Place: “Massachusetts State Integrity Package” by Matt Porter, Kirsten Berg, Julia Waterhous and Alex Burris, Boston University
Second Place: “Fait Accompli” by Kathleen Ronayne and Beckie Strum, Syracuse University
Third Place: “Cleary Act Challenges” by Casey McDermott, Penn State University

In-Depth Reporting (Medium)
First Place: “Mental Health at Harvard” by Quinn D. Hatoff, Harvard University
Second Place: “Mercer County Community College has filed faulty crime reports for years” by Laura Pollack, Mercer County Community College
Third Place: “Professor Jamal Eric Watson is investigated for a wide range of legal and contractual reasons” by Laura Pollack, Kellie Rendina and Noelle Gilman, Mercer County Community College

In-Depth Reporting (Small)
First Place: “Budget cuts keep birth control under wraps” by Phat Nguyen, Wilkes University
Second Place: “Lee named 15th President” by Yellow Jacket Staff and Sarah Bell, Waynesburg University
Third Place: “Professor Accused of Sexual Harassment” by Tyler Dumont, Lyndon State College

Feature Writing (Large)
First Place: “Out of the darkness” by Marwa Eltagouri, Syracuse University
Second Place: “A Climate of Communication” by Jennifer Swales, Penn State University
Third Place: “Help in dealing with the pain” by Sean Carlin, Temple University

Feature Writing (Medium)
First Place: “My name is Owen: One transgender student’s journey into manhood” by Spencer Buell, Framingham State University
Second Place: “Domestic Propaganda” by Jason Silverstein, University of Rochester
Third Place: “Even When No One is Looking” By Tara W. Merrigan, Harvard University

Feature Writing (Small)
First Place: “Replacing calories to erase pounds” by Kinsey Janke and Michelle Lee, Roger Williams University
Second Place: “Crohn’s Is On The Rise Among Children” by Hannah Rubin, Wesleyan University
Third Place: “Bradford Kinney ready to retire after 40 years at Wilkes” by William Thomas, Wilkes University

Sports Writing (Large)
First Place: “Despite hard-fought efforts, progress comes slowly for female sportswriters” by Emily Kaplan, Penn State University
Second Place: “Players enjoy strategy of sport” by Eric Visintainer, Penn State University
Third Place: “Lewis escapes from tough upbringing, graduates from SU to achieve lifelong goal” by David Propper, Syracuse University

Sports Writing (Medium)
First Place: “Rethinking America's Pastime: The Paul DePodesta Story” by Scott A. Sherman, Harvard University
Second Place: “The Rise of Harvard Basketball” by Catherine E. Coppinger, Martin A. Kessler, Scott A. Sherman and Dennis J. Zheng, Harvard University
Third Place: “Fenlator pilots life’s struggles and joys” by David Pavlak, Rider University

Sports Writing (Small)
First Place: “Running Into Trouble” by Joshua Weinreb, Roger Williams University
Second Place: "Gaelic Football, Father an Inspiration for Fordham Kicker Murray” by Jennifer Khedaroo, Fordham College at Lincoln Center

Editorial Writing (Large)
First Place: Casey McDermott, Penn State University
Second Place: Marissa Medansky, Dan Stein and Tapley Stephenson, Yale University
Third Place: Chase Brush, Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Editorial Writing (Medium)
First Place: The Gatepost Editorial Board, Framingham State University
Second Place: Timothy Wadman, Villanova University
Third Place: Staff of The College VOICE, Mercer County Community College

Editorial Writing (Small)
First Place: Ian McKenna, Monique John and Harry Huggins, Fordham College at Lincoln Center

General Column Writing (Large)
First Place: Colin Ross, Yale University
Second Place: Marissa Medansky, Yale University
Third Place: Jesse Rifkin, University of Connecticut

General Column Writing (Medium)
First Place: Sam Ellison, Villanova University
Second Place: Ken Napier, Mercer County Community College

General Column Writing (Small)
First Place: Jewel Galbraith, Fordham College at Lincoln Center
Second Place: Jay Polansky, Fairfield University

Sports Column Writing (Large)
First Place: Michael Cohen, Syracuse University
Second Place: Aaron Mansfield, University at Buffalo
Third Place: “Paterno was human, too” by Adam Bittner, Penn State University

Sports Column Writing (Medium)
First Place: “Around the Ivies” by Scott A. Sherman, Harvard University
Second Place: Kevin Pulsifer, Villanova University

Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper
First Place: Yale Daily News, Yale University
Second Place: The Daily Pennsylvanian, University of Pennsylvania
Third Place: The Daily Orange, Syracuse University

Best All-Around Non Daily Student Newspaper (Large
First Place: Outlook, SUNY Rockland Community College
Second Place: The Torch, Bergen Community College
Third Place: The Maine Campus, University of Maine

Best All-Around Non Daily Student Newspaper (Medium)
First Place: The Ithacan, Ithaca College
Second Place: The Rider News, Rider University
Third Place: Campus Times, University of Rochester

Best All-Around Non Daily Student Newspaper (Small)
First Place: The Hawks’ Herald, Roger Williams University

MAGAZINE
Non-Fiction Magazine Article
First Place: “Cold Blood Brothers” by Iona Holloway, Syracuse University
Second Place: “Smelling Blood” by Juliana Hanle, Yale University
Third Place: “Red, White, and Green” by Christina Sterbenz, Syracuse University

Best Student Magazine
First Place: Jerk Magazine, Syracuse University
Second Place: Valley Magazine, Penn State University
Third Place: MPJ Magazine, Syracuse University

ART/GRAPHICS
Breaking News Photography (Large)
First Place: “Vigil for Joe Paterno” by Tyler Sizemore, Penn State University
Second Place: “Rally ends in defeat” by Cynthia Hua, Yale University
Third Place: “9-11 dedication and memorial” by Paul Eberte, Community College of Philadelphia

Breaking News Photography (Small)
First Place: “Hurricane Sandy” by Tavy Wu, Fordham College at Lincoln Center

General News Photography (Large)
First Place: “KissOut” by Chloe Elmer, Penn State University
Second Place: “Roller Coaster” by Torri Singer, Penn State University
Third Place: “Profs fall in first round” by Louis Gormley, Rowan University

General News Photography (Medium)
First Place: “Chinese New Year” by Matthew Grant Arnold, Mercer County Community College

Feature Photography (Large)
First Place: “Raising Vladdy” by Kelley King, Penn State University
Second Place: “Caring for Noah” by Krista Myers, Penn State University
Third Place: “Career Fair” by Chloe Elmer, Penn State University

Feature Photography (Medium)
First Place: “Moon Festival Gift” by Danielle Vecchione, Framingham State University

Feature Photography (Small)
First Place: “New York City Graffiti Art” by Weiyu Li, Fordham College at Lincoln Center
Second Place: “Spring Dip” by Bryan Barber, Danielle Drown and Sierra Willenburg, Lyndon State College

Photo Illustration (Large)
First Place: “Stories from Sandy” by Torri Singer, Penn State University

Sports Photography (Large)
First Place: “Your knee shouldn't go that way” by Kelley King, Penn State University
Second Place: “Victory Celebration” by Amanda August, Penn State University
Third Place: “Battle on the Midway” by Nate Shron, Syracuse University

Sports Photography (Medium)
First Place: “Ragone Has the Last Laugh” by Mark A. Kelsey, Harvard University

Editorial Cartooning (Large)
First Place: Daniel Nott, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Second Place: Emmett Baggett, Syracuse University
Third Place: Micah Benson, Syracuse University

RADIO
Radio News Reporting
First Place: “The National Guard Comes to Red Hook” by Sean Carlson, CUNY
Second Place: “Living With Guns” by Mary Shell, CUNY
Third Place: “Syrian Protests Reach Brooklyn” by Justin Mitchell, CUNY

Radio Feature
First Place: “Syracuse Community Choir: by Marina Zarya, Syracuse University
Second Place: “Homeschooling” by Diana Saverin, Yale College
Third Place: “Growing Apples and History on Long Island” by Adam Warner, CUNY

Radio In-Depth Reporting
First Place: “NYC's Bike-Share Program” by Connor Ryan, Fordham University
Second Place: “Penn State University Scandal Recovery Efforts” by Casie Tennin,Penn State University
Third Place: “Local Music Worldwide” by Willis Arnold, Rachel Sapin and Jorteh Senah, CUNY

Radio Sports Reporting
First Place: “Boxing Takes Teens to Next Round” by Tom DiChristopher, CUNY
Second Place: “A Skate Park Grows in Brooklyn” by Tom DiChristopher, CUNY
Third Place: “Al Michaels: Seizing the Moment” by Kyle Kesses, Fordham University

Best All-Around Radio Newscast
First Place: WFUV Newscast, Fordham University

TELEVISION
Television Breaking News Reporting
First Place: “SU Student Suicide Reax” by Andrew Scheinthal,Suffolk University
Second Place: “Jerry Sandusky Sentenced” by Adrienne DiPiazza, Penn State University
Third Place: “Manufacturers Lead Jobs Recovery” by Laura J. Keller, Columbia University

Television General News Reporting
First Place: “Recovering in Pt. Pleasant, N.J.” by Jenn Walker, Quinnipiac University
Second Place: “Paperless Parking” by Cat Janisko, Penn State University
Third Place: “Heat Causing Farmers to Sweat” by Matt Sonsalla, Penn State University

Television Feature Reporting
First Place: “Reaching Higher” by Karam Khosa, Matt Andersen and Will Monkowski, Penn State University
Second Place: “32 Years of Smiles” by Lorne Fultonberg, Syracuse University
Third Place: “Transit Fails Older New Yorkers” by Whitney Mallett, New York University

Television Sports Reporting
First Place: “The Future of Boxing in America” by Fernando Calderon and Pete Floyd, Penn State University
Second Place: “Reaching Higher” by Karam Khosa, Matt Anderson and Will Monkowski, Penn State University
Third Place: “Austin's Story” by Rachel Polansky, Penn State University

Television News Photography
First Place: “Hurricane Sandy Damage” by Zach Russo, Quinnipiac University
Second Place: “Heat Causing Farmers to Sweat” by Matt Sonsalla, Penn State University

Television Feature Photography
First Place: “Manufacturers Lead Jobs Recovery” by Laura J. Keller, Columbia University

Television Sports Photography
First Place: “Austin's Story” by Rachel Polansky and Dan Hamilton, Penn State University
Second Place: “The Future of Boxing in America” by Fernando Calderon and Pete Floyd, Penn State University

Best All-Around Television Newscast
First Place: The Centre County Report - 11/2/12, Penn State University

ONLINE
Online News Reporting (Large)
First Place: “The Doctor Drain” by NYCity News Service Staff, CUNY
Second Place: “Scenes of Sandy” by NYCity News Service Staff, CUNY
Third Place: “Haven on The Harlem” by Mott Haven Herald and NYCity News Service Staff, CUNY

Online News Reporting (Medium)
First Place: “Hurricane Sandy Coverage” by The Quad News, Quinnipiac University
Second Place: “Hurricane Sandy” by The Rider News Staff, Rider University
Third Place: “Connecticut Readies Its Healthcare Exchange” by Adam Chiara, Quinnipiac University

Online News Reporting (Small)
First Place: “Hawk The Vote Election 2012” by Christopher Ferreira, Nicholle Buckley, Olivia Lyons and George Boveroux, Roger Williams University

Online Feature Reporting (Large)
First Place: “Changing Neighborhoods” by NYCity News Service Staff, CUNY
Second Place: “Sandy hits close to home for Hofstra student reporter” by Kristen Maldonado, Hofstra University
Third Place: :Scrappers” by Dillon Mast, Temple University

Online Feature Reporting (Medium)
First Place: “The Planet of the Octopuses” by Max Knoblauch, Hofstra University
Second Place: “Training Police Dogs” by Adam Chiara, Quinnipiac University
Third Place: “Hurricane Sandy Hit...Mineola Hit Harder” by Jeanine Russaw, Hofstra University

Online Feature Reporting (Small)
First Place: “Viral Content: Free Speech, Hate Speech” by Caroline Batten, Swarthmore College
Second Place: “From Pageants To Politics” by Gabbi Hall and Shannon Moore, Saint Michael's College

Online In-Depth Reporting (Large)
First Place: “The Doctor Drain” by NYCity News Service Staff, CUNY
Second Place: “Haven on The Harlem” by Mott Haven Herald and NYCity News Service Staff, CUNY

Online Sports Reporting (Large)
First Place: “Shane McGregor: quarterback, prayer warrior and author” by Melanie DiCarlo, Penn State University
Second Place: “Syracuse tries to decrease risk of concussions by neck-strengthening” by Michael Cohen, Syracuse University
Third Place: “Roller Derby ‘Girls’ Slam and Jam” by Alex Robinson, CUNY

Best Affiliated Website (Large)
First Place: theDP.com, University of Pennsylvania
Second Place: The Daily Collegian Online, Penn State University
Third Place: studentvanguard.com, Community College of Philadelphia

Best Affiliated Website (Small)
First Place: NewsLINC, Lyndon State College

Best Independent Online Student Publication (Large)
First Place: The NewsHouse, Syracuse University
Second Place: NYCity News Service, CUNY
Third Place: Scienceline, New York University

Best Independent Online Student Publication (Medium)
First Place: The Quad News, Quinnipiac University
Second Place: Imprint Magazine, Ithaca College

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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