Contacts:
Abbi Martzall, SPJ Awards Coordinator, (317) 920-4791, amartzall@spj.org
Rachel Semple, SPJ Communications Coordinator, (317) 920-4785, rsemple@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS – For the second year, the Society of Professional Journalists is giving a national award for the year’s best student journalism. The MOEy best in show award is selected from more than 4,100 entries in SPJ's 2015 Mark of Excellence Awards competition.

Student entries are first judged regionally in print, radio, television and online collegiate journalism categories. First-place regional winners advance to the national competition and then are able to compete for the MOEy award.

The MOEy finalists are:
• Carolina Connection, UNC-Chapel Hill (Best All-Around Radio Newscast)
• Paul Nevin, University of Washington (Feature Photography, Large School Division)
• Capital News Service, University of Maryland (In-Depth Reporting, Large School Division)
• Temple News, Temple University (Online In-Depth Reporting)
• Ricky Lasser and Karen Tang, University of Maryland (Television Sports Photography)

Carolina Connection
Carolina Connection of the School of Media and Journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill is the national winner for Best All-Around Radio Newscast. The 2015 piece reports on the killings of three Muslim students under investigation as potential hate crimes as well as the impact of men’s basketball head coach Dean Smith. Listen to the newscast here.

Paul Nevin
Paul Nevin of the University of Washington is a winner in the Large School Division of Feature Photography for his photo “Seattle group’s training program saves lives of moms and babies in Kenya.” View the photo here.

Capital News Service
The Capital News Service of the Phillip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland is a national winner for In-Depth Reporting in the Large School Division. The publication, “The Brothel Next Door” explores human trafficking in Maryland and can be read here.

Temple News
Temple News of Temple University is a national winner in Online In-Depth Reporting for the piece “Crime & Campus.” Read the story on the police force at Temple and campus safety here.

Ricky Lasser and Karen Tang
Ricky Lasser and Karen Tang of the University of Maryland are national winners for their work “ViewFinder: Troops Deploy Game Ball” in the Television Sports Photography category. The work can be viewed here.

The winner of the MOEy will be presented at Excellence in Journalism 2016 during the Student Union Monday, Sept. 19. The event is free with EIJ16 registration.

SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to informing citizens; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and fights to protect First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. Support excellent journalism and fight for your right to know. Become a member, give to the Legal Defense Fund, or give to the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation.

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