FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Abbi Martzall, SPJ Awards Coordinator, 317-920-4791, awards@spj.org
Taylor Carlier, SPJ Communications Coordinator, 317-920-4785, tcarlier@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS — The Society of Professional Journalists recognizes the 2014 Mark of Excellence Awards winners from Region 5. The MOE Awards honor the best of collegiate journalism from a calendar year.

SPJ’s Region 5 comprises Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. Honorees received award certificates the weekend of March 28 at the Region 5 Spring Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. 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 2015 (EIJ15) in Orlando, Florida, Sept. 18 to 20.

Entries 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 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 at least 10,000 students and small schools have 9,999 or fewer students.

See the list below for details on the Region 5 winners, and direct any MOE Awards questions to Awards Coordinator Abbi Martzall: awards@spj.org and 317-920-4791.

Note: The list reflects the spelling and titles submitted in the award-entry process.

ART/GRAPHICS
Breaking News Photography (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: First moments of freedom - by Annabel Edwards, Medill Justice Project, Northwestern University
Finalist: Football tames tigers - by Kameron Casey, University of Indianapolis
Finalist: Bruce Rauner claims victory in Illinois - by Grant Myatt, DePaul University

Breaking News Photography (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: ‘Cosmos’ scientist speaks at UIndy - by Ben Zefeng Zhang, University of Indianapolis

Editorial Cartooning
Winner: "Dirty laundry"; "Ebola"; "The Shopping dead" - by Audrey Meyer, Butler University

Feature Photography (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: ROTC members participate, reflect on field experience training - by Lionel Lim, Indiana University

Feature Photography (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Holiday Gala - by Zach Taylor, DePauw University

Photo Illustration (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Best burgers of Muncie - by Max Catterson, Ball State University

Photo Illustration (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Fountain Square feature page - by Jake Fritz, Stephanie Kirkling, Kyle Weidner, James Figy and Kameron Casey, University of Indianapolis

Sports Photography (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Rozier steals and storms - by Austin Lassell, University of Louisville

Sports Photography (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Sam Caravana women's swimming - by Sam Caravana, DePauw University

MAGAZINES
Best Student Magazine
Winner: 812: The Magazine of Southern Indiana, Summer/Fall 2014 - by 812 Staff, Indiana University
Finalist: Ball Bearings Magazine, Volume 6, Issue 1 - by Ball Bearings Staff, Ball State University
Finalist: North by Northwestern Fall 2014 Issue - by North by Northwestern magazine staff, Northwestern University

Non-Fiction Magazine Article
Winner: Dear Dolly - by Jenna Fagan, Indiana University
Finalist: Corn-fed comedy - by Sarah Whaley and Madison Borgmann, Indiana University
Finalist: After the industry - by Trent Scroggins, Tyler Payne, Ball State University

NEWSPAPERS
Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper
Winner: The Daily Northwestern - by staff, Northwestern University
Finalist: The Ball State Daily News - by The Ball State Daily News, Ball State University
Finalist: Indiana Daily Student - by Staff, Indiana University

Best All-Around Non Daily Student Newspaper
Winner: The Loyola Phoenix - by Esther Castillejo (Editor), Loyola University Chicago
Finalist: The Echo - by The Echo, Taylor University
Finalist: The DePaulia - by The DePaulia, DePaul University

Breaking News Reporting (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Indianapolis man saves children from drowning - by Megan Jula, Indiana University
Finalist: Student describes experience on Purdue's campus during shooting - by Emma Kate Fittes, Ball State University

Breaking News Reporting (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Northwestern to halt mediation plans in Ludlow suit - by Jeanne Kuang, Northwestern University
Finalist: Senior Hall broken into, Public Safety responded - by Nicole DeCriscio, Leann Burke, DePauw University
Finalist: Former Butler student killed by ISIS - by Ben Sieck and Mallory Duncan, Butler University

Editorial Writing
Winner: Our View: Daily News Editorials - by The Ball State Daily News Editorial Board, Ball State University
Finalist: Daily Illini Editorials - by Daily Illini Editorial Board, University of Illinois
Finalist: Editorials from Thorobred News - by Alexis Meza, Madalyn Holt, Traci Thomas, Ben Schroeder, Kentucky State University

Feature Writing (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Homeless or not, he's got the month of May - by Elizabeth Greiwe, Loyola University Chicago
Finalist: Liquor store Frank - by Christopher Stephens, Ball State University
Finalist: The disappeared - by Michael Majchrowicz, Indiana University

Feature Writing (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: The Unspoken series - by Kari Travis, Taylor University
Finalist: Trip tours the nation - by Katie Goodrich, Butler University
Finalist: Former player Smith diagnosed with cancer - by Matthew VanTryon, Butler University

General Column Writing (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Jims Porter Columns - by Jims Porter, Indiana University Southeast
Finalist: "Diversity is not a number"; "Students should pursue their passions"; "No pay? Then don't intern" - by Julian Wyllie, Butler University
Finalist: The bigger picture - by Abigail Pollock, Taylor University

General News Reporting (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: When students die - by Megan Jula, Indiana University
Finalist: Pension Typo - by Johnathan Hettinger, writer, University of Illinois
Finalist: All that glitters is not gold - by Victoria Lentz, Northern Kentucky University

General News Reporting (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Former Butler student held captive by ISIS - by Marais Jacon-Duffy and Cassie Eberle, Butler University
Finalist: Mihirtej Boddupalli package - by Paige Leskin; Rebecca Savransky, Tyler Pager; Ally Mutnick, Northwestern University
Finalist: Former DePauw University psychology professor Akshat Vyas - by Dana Ferguson Abby Margulis, DePauw University

In-Depth Reporting (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Sexual assault at IU - by Investigations Staff, Indiana University
Finalist: Crime on campus - by Esther Castillejo Jordan Berger, Loyola University Chicago
Finalist: In Focus: Northwestern community evaluates culture, resources for transgender students - by Tyler Pager, Northwestern University

In-Depth Reporting (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Kentuckiana faces rising problem of drug abuse and addiction - by Ethan Smith, Indiana University Southeast
Finalist: Two student veterans share PTSD struggles - by Ethan Smith, Indiana University Southeast
Finalist: Former players allege verbal abuse, mistreatment - by Matthew VanTryon, Butler University

Sports Column Writing
Winner: Full-Court Press - by Dakota Crawford, Ball State University
Finalist: Sports column writing - by Scott Mitchell, University of Indianapolis

Sports Writing (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Northwestern's LGBT athletes struggle to find their voices amid a lacking support system - by Tyler Pager, Northwestern University
Finalist: The art of falling - by Michael Majchrowicz, Indiana University
Finalist: KeyArena turns a bigger profit than it ever did with the Sonics - by Ashley Scoby, University of Kentucky

Sports Writing (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: 54 to boot - by Benjamin Schroeder, Kentucky State University
Finalist: Olympian to Trojan - by Chris Yingling, Taylor University
Finalist: Shooting for glory - by Chris Yingling, Taylor University

ONLINE
Best Affiliated Web Site
Winner: LoyolaPhoenix.com - by Esther Castillejo (Editor-in-Chief), Loyola University Chicago
Finalist: The Daily Illini - by Johnathan Hettinger, Editor in Chief, University of Illinois
Finalist: idsnews.com - by Staff, Indiana University

Best Digital-Only Student Publication
Winner: The Red Line Project - by Staff, DePaul Univeristy
Finalist: The Quad - by Omar Jimenez, Nick Petro, Max Hogan, Jack Mordell, Austin Hunter, Northwestern University

Best Independent Online Student Publication
Winner: The Quad - by Omar Jimenez, Nick Petro, Jack Mordell, Max Hogan, Austin Hunter, Northwestern University
Finalist: The Medill Justice Project - by Staff, Northwestern University
Finalist: Data/Chicago - by Staff, DePaul Univeristy

Best Use of Multimedia
Winner: World Cup 2014 Preview - by Cody Voga, David Gubala, Andrew Rodriguez, Juan Latapi and Matt Anderson, DePaul Univeristy
Finalist: Mayberry on mushrooms - by Kreable Young, Cameron Love, Western Kentucky University
Finalist: How do stories bring us together: The ASR Templeton K-6 Project - by American Student Radio, Indiana University Media School

Online Feature Reporting
Winner: Dad's bucket - by Charles Scudder, Anna Teeter, Missy Wilson, Indiana University
Finalist: Who are the 'satanists' designing an Idol for the Oklahoma Capitol? - by Gideon Resnick , Northwestern University
Finalist: The new drag queens of Boystown - by Brianna Kelly, DePaul Univeristy

Online In-Depth Reporting
Winner: Harsh treatment - by Staff, Medill Watchdog, Northwestern University/Medill
Finalist: Boot camp - by Tanner Cole, Western Kentucky University
Finalist: Gameday - by Daniel Hersh, Jasper Scherer, Northwestern University

Online News Reporting
Winner: The Kenny "Zulu" Whitmore case - by Staff, The Medill Justice Project, Northwestern University
Finalist: Wrongful convictions - by Staff, The Medill Justice Project, Northwestern University
Finalist: When students die - by Megan Jula, Glory Sheeley, Mary Shown, Indiana University

Online Sports Reporting
Winner: For the love of baseball - by Steven Goldstein, Northwestern University
Finalist: Chicago sidelines - by Staff, DePaul Univeristy
Finalist: World Cup 2014 Preview - by Cody Voga, David Gubala, Andrew Rodriguez, Juan Latapi and Matt Anderson, DePaul Univeristy

RADIO BROADCAST
Best All-Around Radio Newscast
Winner: Melissa Williams’ Newscast - by Melissa Williams, Illinois State University
Finalist: Haddy Badjie WWHR - by Haddy Badjie, Western Kentucky University
Finalist: WLUW Lunchtime News, March 18, 2014 - by Tony Buitrago, Stephanie Buffamonte, Joe Flaherty, Liz Greiwe, Loyola University Chicago

Radio Feature
Winner: Farmer Chris Vosters finds comfort in selling kettle corn - by Kale Wilk, Indiana University Media School
Finalist: Women spin a common thread from the inside, out - by Anu Kumar, Indiana University Media School
Finalist: Fairy art - by Haddy Badjie, Western Kentucky University

Radio In-Depth Reporting
Winner: Marijuana birds-I-view - by Tyler Bachman, Emily Pomorski, WZND News Team, Illinois State University

Radio News Reporting
Winner: Ferguson's faithful fighters - by Haddy Badjie, Western Kentucky University
Finalist: No room to run: Sidewalk complaints - by Hillary Lindwall, Northwestern University

Radio Sports Reporting
Winner: WLUW reporting on the championship Ramblers - by Joe Flaherty, Loyola University Chicago
Finalist: Illini football teammates and friends - by Torrence Sorrell, University of Illinois

TELEVISION BROADCAST
Best All-Around Television Newscast
Winner: Northwestern News Report: Election show 2014 - by Sharon Yoo Catherine Reid, Northwestern University, Medill
Finalist: Good Day DePaul - by Daniel Kummerer Delaney Lux, DePaul University
Finalist: WKU News Channel 12: 11-18-2014 - by Brandi Ratterman, Western Kentucky University

Television Feature Reporting
Winner: GDD Wine Class - by Nicole Suarez, DePaul University
Finalist: GDD animal spa - by Sade Carpenter, DePaul University
Finalist: NU voters package - by Jesse Kirsch, Northwestern University

Television General News Reporting
Winner: 'Shake and bake' changing the face of the local meth industry - by Omar Jimenez, Northwestern University
Finalist: GDD heroin - by Nicole Suarez, DePaul University
Finalist: The mega-university that could have been - by Theodore Tae, Northwestern University

Television In-Depth Reporting
Winner: Towing investigation - by Cory McCauley, Western Kentucky University
Finalist: GDD sexual assault - by Maggie Gallagher, DePaul University

Television News and Feature Photography
Winner: Corvette museum sinkhole - by Daniel Blommel, Western Kentucky University

Television Sports Photography
Winner: Warren East practice - by Daniel Blommel, Western Kentucky University

Television Sports Reporting
Winner: Hardee overcomes loss of mom - by Chad Boxenbaum, University of Illinois
Finalist: GDD Brittany Hrynko - by Camille Padilla, DePaul University

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 spj.org.

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