SPJ announces 2011 Region 2 Mark of Excellence Winners

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4/2/2012

For immediate release

Contacts:
Lauren Rochester, SPJ Awards Coordinator, 317-927-8000 ext. 210, lrochester@spj.org
Abby Henkel, SPJ Communications Manager, 317-927-8000 ext. 215, ahenkel@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists is pleased to announce the Region 2 Mark of Excellence Award winners for the 2011 calendar year. The Mark of Excellence Awards honor the best collegiate journalism in the U.S.

SPJ Region 2 includes Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. This year, the contest received more than 4,000 entries across SPJ’s 12 regions.

The honorees were awarded certificates on March 31 during the Region 2 SPJ Spring Conference held at Elon University in Elon, N.C. First-place regional winners will advance to the national round of judging. National winners will be announced in late April.

The winners are listed below. For additional information on the Mark of Excellence awards, please contact Awards Coordinator Lauren Rochester at lrochester@spj.org.

REGION 2 WINNERS

Four-year colleges

Breaking News Photography
• First Place: Police, students clash – by Chris Conway, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Second Place: Bin Laden announced dead – by Brian Allenby, Elon University
• Third Place: Egypt protests – by Ana Santos, American University

Feature Photography
• First Place: Local flower shop closes after 32 years – by Chris Gregory, George Washington University
• Second Place: Old-fashioned a la mode – by Kenneth L. Hawkins, Jr., North Carolina A&T State University
• Third Place: HAIR tackles timeless issues through song, passion – by Claire Esparros, Elon University

General News Photography
• First Place: National Go Topless Day – by Michelle Rattinger, George Washington University
• Second Place: Obamas sit courtside for home opener – by Casey Prather, Towson University
• Third Place: iStan – by Kenneth L. Hawkins, Jr., North Carolina A&T State University

Photo Illustration
• First Place: Defining diversity: Campus grapples with response to discrimination – by Heather Cassano, Elon University
• Second Place: Making the grade – by Justin Fischer, Towson University
• Third Place: First Amendment Day – by Allison Russell, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Sports Photography
• First Place: Dawn Evans – by Robert Boag, James Madison University
• Second Place: Phoenix to face no. 1 Georgia Southern – by Al Drago, Elon University
• Third Place: Towson shellshocked – by Casey Prather, Towson University

Best Student Magazine
• First Place: 101 Magazine Staff, Howard University
• Second Place: Ink Magazine, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Third Place: Port & Main, James Madison University

Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: The Daily Tar Heel, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Second Place: The Diamondback, University of Maryland
• Third Place: No award*

Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper
• First Place: The GW Hatchet, George Washington University
• Second Place: The Pendulum, Elon University
• Third Place: The Breeze, James Madison University

Breaking News Reporting
• First Place: Eve Carson’s accused killer found guilty – by Chelsey Dulaney, University of Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Second Place: Students flood Route 1, mall after Bin Laden death – by Marissa Lang, University of Maryland
• Third Place: Homecoming for Towson’s president – by Lauren Slavin, Towson University

Editorial Writing
• First Place: The GW Hatchet editorial board, George Washington University
• Second Place: The Eagle staff, American University
• Third Place: The Diamondback staff, University of Maryland

Feature Writing
• First Place: 10th anniversary of 9/11 – by Leigh Giangreco, Paige Jones, Zach Cohen and Kate Froehlich, American University
• Second Place: Tramp ships and turntables – by Richard Abdill, University of Maryland
• Third Place: AU student veterans share experiences abroad, on campus – by Zach C. Cohen, American University

General Column Writing
• First Place: Christopher Haxel, University of Maryland
• Second Place: Mark Laichena, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Third Place: Osama Eshera, University of Maryland

General News Reporting
• First Place: Ten years gone – by Yasmeen Abutaleb and Rachel Roubein, University of Maryland
• Second Place: 'No' means no, but interpretation of effective consent differs at Elon – by Kassondra Cloos, Elon University
• Third Place: Campus questions delayed notification after student-reported sexual assault – by Rebecca Gitlin, Appalachian State University

In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: Salmonella investigation – by Jeffrey Benzing, Esther French and Judah Ari Gross, University of Maryland
• Second Place: Young football players at greater concussion risk than pros – by Chris Eckard and Jonas Shaffer, University of Maryland
• Third Place: Twice burned – by Steve Kilar, University of Maryland

Sports Column Writing
• First Place: Columns by Jeremy Schneider, University of Maryland
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Sports Writing
• First Place: Team Tyler – by Conor Walsh, University of Maryland
• Second Place: With Turgeon, a new look – by Chris Eckard, University of Maryland
• Third Place: Cavs sting Wasps, 33-30 – by Jordan Fifer and Jordan Childress, The University of Virginia’s College at Wise

Best Affiliated Web Site
• First Place: The GW Hatchet (www.gwhatchet.com), George Washington University
• Second Place: The Daily Tar Heel (www.dailytarheel.com), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Third Place: The Pendulum (www.elonpendulum.com), Elon University

Best Independent Online Student Publication
• First Place: Howard University News Service (www.howarduniversitynewsservice.com), Howard University
• Second Place: Rams Review (www.ramsreview.com), Virginia Commonwealth University
• Third Place: No award*

Online Feature Reporting
• First Place: Salmonella lurks from farm to fork – by Jeffrey Benzing, Esther French, Judah Ari Gross and Robyne McCullough, University of Maryland
• Second Place: Reframing Mexico, University of North Carolina
• Third Place: Mother turns mourning into movement – by Nia Moore, Howard University

Online In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: How safe is your food – by News21 team, University of Maryland
• Second Place: Coal: A love story – by Powering a Nation 2011 staff, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Third Place: Prescription drugs easy to access, easy to abuse – by Melissa Powell, Eleanor Kennedy, Caitlin Doermer and Robert Grattan, Washington and Lee University

Online News Reporting
• First Place: Salmonella lurks from farm to fork – by Jeffrey Benzing, Esther French, Judah Ari Gross and Robyne McCullough, University of Maryland
• Second Place: Some say health officials need to do more to warn public of high mercury levels in Lake Lariat fish – by Madhu Rajaraman, University of Maryland
• Third Place: Users stocked up on synthetic marijuana – by Matt Birch, Virginia Commonwealth University

Online Sports Reporting
• First Place: Ram fans rally during send-off – by Alyx Duckett and Matt Birch, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Second Place: VCU prepares for football – by Tommy Lopez, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Third Place: Baltimore Grand Prix – by Gabriella Demczuk, George Washington University

Editorial Cartooning
• First Place: Dan Nacu, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Second Place: Hannah Swann, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Third Place: Marleigh Culver, Virginia Commonwealth University

Best All-Around Radio Newscast
• First Place: Carolina Connection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Radio Feature Reporting
• First Place: Students’ 9/11 memories – by Michael Tomsic and Alletta Cooper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Second Place: The myth of ‘freshman 15’ – by Reema Khrais, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Third Place: No award*

Radio In-depth Reporting
• First Place: UNC sexual assault policy – by Lydia Wilson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Radio News Reporting
• First Place: Occupy Chapel Hill – by Reema Khrais, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Second Place: Guns on campus – by Alletta Cooper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Third Place: No award*

Best All-Around Television Newscast
• First Place: Carolina Week, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Second Place: Phoenix14 News, Elon University
• Third Place: VCU InSight, Virginia Commonwealth University

Television Feature Reporting
• First Place: North Carolina wine – by Kassy Scarcia, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Second Place: Professor Moose – by Audra Shreve, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Third Place: Red Dog Farm animal rescue network – by Scarlett Fakhar, Elon University

Television In-depth Reporting
• First Place: Sexual assault – by Danielle Lama, University of Maryland
• Second Place: UVA murder exposes flaws in access to protective orders – by Anne Vesoulis, Ben Petitto, Findley Merritt and Wit Robertson, Washington and Lee University
• Third Place: The preliminary hearing – by Anne Vesoulis, Brooke Sutherland, Stephen Peck and Ben Petitto, Washington and Lee University

Television General News Reporting
• First Place: Crab companies hurt by new wage rules – by Tom George, University of Maryland
• Second Place: Educating migrant farmworker children – by David Hodges, Elon University
• Third Place: Rockville tackles deer population problem – by Tom George, University of Maryland

Television Breaking News Reporting
• First Place: Tornado thrashes Shaw – by David Hodges, Elon University
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Television Feature Photography
• First Place: Outdoor movie theater – by Justin Page, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Second Place: No award*
• Third Place: No award*

Television News Photography
• First Place: Missing Vietnam soldiers laid to rest – by Tom George, University of Maryland
• Second Place: Farm estate tax – by Jessica MacLeod, University of Maryland
• Third Place: No award*

Television Sports Reporting
• First Place: Cost of bowls – by Justin Page, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Second Place: Renner siblings – by Lindsey Hawkins, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Third Place: VCU Swim Club team – by Thomas Lopez, Virginia Commonwealth University

* Mark of Excellence Awards honor the best in student journalism. Judges are not required to select first, second or third place winners.

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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