Contacts:
Christine Cordial, SPJ Program Coordinator, (317) 920-4788, ccordial@spj.org
Isaac Taylor, SPJ Communications Coordinator, (317) 920-4785, itaylor@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS – Four MOEy finalists have been selected from more than 4,000 entries in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Awards competition. The MOEy honors the best of the best in student journalism.

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

This year’s MOEy finalists are:

• Luke Sullivan, University of Florida (Radio In-Depth Reporting)
• Dakota McGranahan, Santa Rosa Junior College (General News Photography, Large School Division)
• Lauren Sinatra, Syracuse University (Broadcast Feature Videography)
• Staff of the Diamondback, University of Maryland (In-Depth Reporting, Large School Division)

Luke Sullivan
Luke Sullivan is the national winner for Radio In-Depth Reporting. His winning piece, “When the lights go out, and stay out” profiles one family’s months-long struggle without power in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Read the story and listen online here.

Dakota McGranahan
Dakota McGranahan’s winning photo, “Couple hug in rubble of home,” shows two northern California residents embracing in the remains of their home after the October 2017 fires devastated the area. The piece was named a winner in the General News Photography category, large school division.

Lauren Sinatra
Lauren Sinatra of the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University is the national winner for Broadcast Feature Videography. Her piece, “From the military to the classroom,” profiles a Syracuse first-grade teacher’s unique change in careers.

Staff of the Diamondback
The Diamondback at the University of Maryland is the national winner for In-Depth Reporting, large school division. ‘It’s real’: A seven-part look at how sexual assault is handled at the University of Maryland blends text, sketches, photography, video elements and interactive graphics to tell the story of sexual violence on the university’s campus.

The winner of the MOEy will be presented during the Student Union at Excellence in Journalism 2018 Sept. 28 in Baltimore. The event is free with EIJ18 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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