Region 11 Mark of Excellence winners announced in Universal City, Calif.

Home > SPJ News > Region 11 Mark of Excellence winners announced in Universal City, Calif.

4/30/2018 1:02:00 AM

Contacts:
Christine Cordial, SPJ Program Coordinator, 317-920-4788, awards@spj.org
Anna Gutierrez, SPJ Communications Coordinator, 317-920-4785, communications@spj.org

INDIANAPOLIS — The Society of Professional Journalists recognizes the best collegiate journalism in Region 11 with 2017 Mark of Excellence Awards winners.

SPJ’s Region 11 Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands and Nevada. Honorees received award certificates the weekend of April 28 at the Region 11 Conference. First-place winners will compete at the national level among other regional MOE winners from the 12 SPJ regions.

National winners will be notified in the late spring and will be recognized at the Excellence in Journalism conference in Baltimore.

MOE Awards entries are judged by professionals with at least three years of journalism experience. Judges were directed to choose entries they felt were among the best in student journalism. If no entry rose to the level of excellence, no award was given. Any category not listed has no winner.

School divisions are based on student enrollment, including both graduate and undergraduate: Large schools have at least 10,000 students and small schools have 9,999 or fewer students.

The list below details all Region 11 winners. If you have any questions regarding the MOE Awards, contact Christine Cordial via email or phone at 317-920-4788.

This list reflects the spelling and titles submitted in the award entries.

Newspapers
Breaking News Reporting (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Bruin Republicans’ event sparks protests, draws conflicting viewpoints - by Sydney Coneeny, Anirudh Keni, Megana Sekar and Jacob Preal, University of California, Los Angeles
Finalist: Classes resumed Friday, Skirball fire at 75 percent containment - by Rupan Bharanidaran and Jacob Preal, University of California, Los Angeles
Finalist: Milo Yiannopoulos' Halloween visit to CSUF - by Brandon Pho, Breanna Belken, Amy Wells and Jason Rochlin, California State University, Fullerton

Breaking News Reporting (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Historic building collapses in Pomona - by Brooke Grasso, Gabriella Chikhani, University of La Verne
Finalist: New suit once again roils police - by Katy Stegall, Southwestern College

General News Reporting (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Young America’s Foundation: Who is funding UC Berkeley’s Ben Shapiro event? - by Ashley Wong, UC Berkeley
Finalist: Muslim student seeks a safe place to pray on campus - by Sarah Desmond, El Camino College
Finalist: The search for the next University of Arizona president - by J.D. Molinary, University of Arizona

General News Reporting (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Title IX rolled back - by Giovanna Z. Rinaldo, University of La Verne
Finalist: Police chief resigns with pay until Dec. - by Katy Stegall, Southwestern College
Finalist: Ex-senator expelled in ASO rape case - by Katy Stegall, Southwestern College

In-Depth Reporting (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Detainees' property often not returned after their release - by Jorge Encinas, University of Arizona
Finalist: Rampant sexual misconduct in the UC system - by The Daily Californian Staff, UC Berkeley
Finalist: Bay Area cities, counties confront legal pot - by Spencer Silva, University of California, Berkeley

Feature Writing (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: While the Oakland Fire Department takes heat, a new generation of firefighters comes of age - by Rosa Furneaux, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
Finalist: War stories - by William Thorne, University of California, Los Angeles
Finalist: Reporter's notebook: Saving a lost generation - by William Torres, Los Angeles City College

Feature Writing (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Discharged from America - by Michael McDonald, Southwestern College
Finalist: SWC students struggle with homelessness - by Cristofer Garcia, Southwestern College
Finalist: Health student overcomes slavery, homelessness - by Giovanna Z. Rinaldo, University of La Verne

Sports Writing (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: The burden of representation - by Nicky Shapiro, UC Berkeley
Finalist: CSUF Athletics succeeds despite budgetary limits - by Harrison Faigen, California State University, Fullerton
Finalist: UCLA men’s basketball season comes to bittersweet end - by Matt Cummings, University of California, Los Angeles

Sports Writing (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Mictlan's Warriors - by Ivana Morales, Southwestern College
Finalist: ‘Dingers,’ dementia and depression: Concussions and the future of football - by Jake Hutchinson, Chapman University
Finalist: Student to compete in Deaflympics - by Giovanna Z. Rinaldo, University of La Verne

Editorial Writing
Winner: Administration, campus police need to get serious about sexual assault; Campus sexual assault one year later: 'A Sick Cultural Norm' continues to worsen; Time to cashier Police Chief Cash - by Staff of The Sun, Southwestern College
Finalist: Assault on white nationalist Richard Spencer echoes similar action on campus almost 55 years ago; ‘SoccerCity’ earns red card; Black minds, like black lives, matter - by Andrew Dyer, San Diego State University
Finalist: Students deserve better leaders than UC regent Norman Pattiz; UC Berkeley’s glacial effort to rename buildings that honor racists is inexcusable; On Urban Shield, Berkeley must make a decision, and it needs to make the right one - by Suhauna Hussain, UC Berkeley

General Column Writing (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Labor pains; Free the nipple; Mo’ money, mo’ problems - by Mia Villanueva, UC Berkeley
Finalist: Rough Sketch columns - by Kaleb Stewart, California State University, Fullerton
Finalist: #metoo is just another way women bear the burden of making change; I’m afraid of looter shooters; Why there aren’t “Basic Boys” - by Rachel Edelstein, Santa Rosa Junior College

General Column Writing (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: From Plato to Pluto columns - by JoseLuis Baylon, Southwestern College

Sports Column Writing
Winner: Wang's Word - by Hanson Wang, University of California, Los Angeles
Finalist: Tanking epidemic demonstrates why NBA must get rid of the draft lottery; Devil’s Advocate: The NBA isn’t soft, it’s smart; Donald Trump’s recent comments show why athletes can’t just ‘stick to sports’ - by Harrison Faigen, California State University, Fullerton
Finalist: ASU football should be able to attract top recruits; Phoenix is not the place to be for seasoned sports fans; CTE will be the end of football - by Paul Slobodzian, Arizona State University

Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper
Winner: The Daily Californian - by The Daily Californian Staff, UC Berkeley
Finalist: Daily Bruin - by Staff of Daily Bruin, University of California, Los Angeles
Finalist: Daily Titan - by Daily Titan Staff, California State University, Fullerton

Best All-Around Non Daily Student Newspaper
Winner: The Sun - by Staff of The Sun, Southwestern College
Finalist: The Oak Leaf - by The Oak Leaf Staff, Santa Rosa Junior College
Finalist: The Union - by Staff of The Union, El Camino College

Magazine
Non-Fiction Magazine Article
Winner: Life amid the levees - by Jacob Shea, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
Finalist: Duty honor country - by Michael McDonald, Southwestern College
Finalist: La Verne's water: Water war/Is it safe? - by Emily Lau, University of La Verne

Best Student Magazine
Winner: Etc. Magazine - by Staff of Etc. Magazine, City College of San Francisco
Finalist: The Bull Magazine - by Staff of The Bull Magazine, Pierce College
Finalist: Prime - by Staff of Prime, University of California, Los Angeles

Art/Graphics
Breaking News Photography (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Peace please - by Dustin Quiroz, Arizona State University
Finalist: Man sifting through rubble of Coffey Park - by James Wyatt, Santa Rosa Junior College
Finalist: The Tubbs Fire burns 5100 Sonoma County homes - by Brandon McCapes, Santa Rosa Junior College

Breaking News Photography (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Dreamer - by Natalie Mosqueda, Southwestern College

General News Photography (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Couple hug in rubble of home - by Dakota McGranahan, Santa Rosa Junior College
Finalist: UCLA's army ROTC cadets participate in spring training exercise - by Kathy Chen, University of California, Los Angeles
Finalist: The Watermark evictions - by Aubrey Yeo, University of California, Los Angeles

Feature Photography (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Mutton busted (2017 Fiesta de los Vaqueros) - by Rebecca Noble, University of Arizona
Finalist: What's one more? - by Johanna Huckeba, Arizona State University
Finalist: Dancers Eyer - by Zane Meyer-Thornton, Santa Monica College

Feature Photography (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Day of the dead - by Anibal Alcaraz, Southwestern College

Photo Illustration (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: War stories - by Hannah Burnett, University of California, Los Angeles
Finalist: Freshman tennis standout Ena Shibahara follows tennis dream to Westwood - by Aubrey Yeo, University of California, Los Angeles
Finalist: Cal State Fullerton doesn't have football - by Katie Albertson and Cathryn Edwards, California State University, Fullerton

Photo Illustration (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Finalist: God save covfefe - by Joaquin Junco Jr., Southwestern College

Sports Photography (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Men’s basketball overcomes halftime deficit, defeats Washington 74-53 - by Ken Shin, University of California, Los Angeles
Finalist: Cal football falls short after 2nd-half comeback vs. Arizona, loses 45-44 in OT - by Lianne Frick, UC Berkeley
Finalist: Barry Bonds remains center of attention in return to alma mater - by Blake Benard, Arizona State University

Sports Photography (Small) 1-9,999 Students
Winner: Head above the rest - by Alexander Contreras, Southwestern College
Finalist: High flying champions - by Victoria Sanchez, Southwestern College

Editorial Cartooning
Winner: The Sun cartoons - by Dan Cordero and Michelle Phillips, Southwestern College
Finalist: Los Angeles Collegian cartoons - by Natalia Zepeda, Los Angeles City College

Radio
Radio News Reporting
Winner: ‘Free speech for me, free speech for thee’ - by Reis Thebault, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
Finalist: In focus: What defunding Planned Parenthood could mean for Arizonans - by Freesia DeNaples and Tea Francesca Price, Arizona State University
Finalist: Foie gras ban - by Ryan Thompson, University of Southern California

Radio Feature
Winner: Helping the homeless, by living with them - by Ariel Plotnick, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
Finalist: In focus: Social media memorialization and ‘cybergraves’ - by Roddy Nikpour, Arizona State University
Finalist: In focus: Service dog helps navigate life with autism - by Ben Flores and Tea Francesca Price, Arizona State University

Radio In-Depth Reporting
Winner: Mexicans and Americans – A complicated relationship - by Adrienne St. Clair, Arizona State University
Finalist: In focus: DACA special report - by Adrienne St. Clair and Andrew Nicla, Arizona State University
Finalist: A look back at Roxy Music - by Liz Warner, University of Southern California

Radio Sports Reporting
Winner: More than a game? - by Simon Campbell and Alex Nieves, UC Berkeley

Best All-Around Radio Newscast
Winner: From where we are - by Alana Bracken, William Rehbock, Gabe Gross and Iris Lee, University of Southern California
Finalist: KCSB 5 O'Clock News: July 13, 2017 - by Amarica Rafanelli, Héctor Sánchez Castañeda, Peyton Stotelmyre and KCSB News Team, University of California, Santa Barbara

Television
Television Breaking News Reporting
Winner: USC active shooter scare - by Sam Bergum, Garrett Schwartz, Taylor Edghill and Kim Rogers, University of Southern California
Finalist: Steve Bannon comes to Tucson, hundreds protest - by Fortesa Latifi, Arizona State University

Television General News Reporting
Winner: Oroville community comes together amid flooding fears - by Cole Sullivan, Marc Sallinger, Sam Bergum and Sanika Bhargaw, University of Southern California
Finalist: Battle over bison - by Drew Marine, Arizona State University
Finalist: Safety bollards - by Eytan Wallace, University of Southern California

Television Feature Reporting
Finalist: Agricultural program helps Navajo students on reservation - by Adriana De Alba, Arizona State University
Finalist: Firefighters train to pass annual physical fitness test - by Sydney Isenberg, Arizona State University

Television In-Depth Reporting
Winner: Trade drives rise of middle class in Mexico - by Lillian Donahue, Arizona State University
Finalist: Fraud on campus: UNLV voter meddling - by James Schaeffer, Denise Hernandez and Blaze Lovell, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Finalist: Just six feet away: Oil drill site may threaten community safety - by Brad Streicher and Sam Bergum, University of Southern California

Television Sports Reporting
Winner: Fighting for fearlessness - by Tyler Paley, Arizona State University
Finalist: Ability360 uses basketball to inspire amputees - by Kelly Broderick, Arizona State University
Finalist: Swimming makes horses better prepared for racing - by Troy Lynch, Arizona State University

Best All-Around Television Newscast
Winner: Annenberg TV News newcast: February 15, 2017 - by Sam Bergum, Abby Flaxer, Sanika Bhargaw and Duanli Zhu, University of Southern California
Finalist: Cronkite News: November 16, 2017 newscast - by Maya Patrose, Chase Boeke and Jade Nicole Yeban, Arizona State University
Finalist: Studio-G - by Denise Hernandez, Albania Guido, James Schaeffer and Samantha Hall, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Online
Online News Reporting
Winner: Opioid overdose deaths continue to mount - by Ryan Santistevan and Ben Moffat, Arizona State University
Finalist: Mexicans work to reclaim corn as their own - by Megan Janetsky and Johanna Huckeba, Arizona State University
Finalist: Cannabis kingdom - by Staff of Daily Bruin, University of California, Los Angeles

Online Feature Reporting
Winner: From right-hand man to a boss named Lefty - by Kristina Vicario, Arizona State University
Finalist: 75 years later, family able to honor USS Oklahoma sailor killed in Pearl Harbor attack - by Lillian Donahue, Arizona State University
Finalist: The memory keeper - by Soni Brown, University of Nevada Las Vegas

Online In-Depth Reporting
Winner: City of deportees - by Staff of Los Angeles Loyolan, Loyola Marymount University
Finalist: NAFTA changes would affect both sides of the border - by Sophia Kunthara, Arizona State University
Finalist: Arizona’s emergency rooms have treated thousands of addicts hooked on opioids - by Joshua Bowling, Arizona State University

Online Sports Reporting
Winner: Stats tell the story of the Sean Miller era - by Alex Furrier, University of Arizona
Finalist: The flipside of cheerleading: a prevalence of catastrophic injuries - by Brittany Bowyer, Arizona State University
Finalist: Freshman basketball player brings talent and team spirit - by Harrison Faigen and Gabe Gandara, California State University, Fullerton

Online Opinion & Commentary
Winner: Charlie Rose’s actions do not reflect excellence in journalism; We would publish "Sensual Steel" again; Why we are publishing an ASU salary database - by State Press Editorial Board, Arizona State University
Finalist: Phoenix Rising columns - by Ryan Boyd, Arizona State University
Finalist: Curtain Critic columns - by Faith Miller and Serena O'Sullivan, Arizona State University

Best Affiliated Web Site
Winner: prime - by Staff of Daily Bruin, University of California, Los Angeles
Finalist: Campus Times Online - by Staff of Campus Times, University of La Verne
Finalist: La Verne Magazine Online - by Staff of La Verne Magazine, University of La Verne

Best Independent Online Student Publication
Winner: Downtown Devil - by Staff of Downtown Devil, Arizona State University
Finalist: Neon - by Jordan Winters, Sean Myers and James Tyner, University of Southern California
Finalist: Dímelo - by Staff of Dímelo, University of Southern California Annenberg

Best Use of Multimedia
Winner: Graduation Issue - by Nathan Smith, Hongyi Zhang and Michael Zhang, University of California, Los Angeles
Finalist: Opioids and the body: the science of an overdose - by Cassie Ronda, Arizona State University
Finalist: Fashion killas - by Jordan Winters, Heran Mamo and James Tyner, University of Southern California

Videography
Broadcast News Videography
Winner: Trade drives rise of middle class in Mexico - by Lillian Donahue, Arizona State University

Broadcast Feature Videography
Winner: MANZO - by Kristina Vicario, Louisa Stanwich and Allie Barton, Arizona State University

Broadcast Sports Videography
Winner: Fighting for fearlessness - by Tyler Paley, Arizona State University
Finalist: Forrest Snow: Ball player by day, musician by night - by Sydney Cariel, Arizona State University
Finalist: Swimming helps horses for race day - by Troy Lynch, Arizona State University

Online/Digital News Videography
Winner: Unstable ground in Pinal County - by Melanie Abramoff, Arizona State University
Finalist: Ben Shapiro speaks at UCLA - by Dean Hughes, University of California, Los Angeles
Finalist: Follow-up report on sexual assault sit-in demands - by Julia Nguyen, Fabiola Esqueda and Erica Schweitzer, University of California, Santa Barbara

Online/Digital Feature Videography
Winner: Daily Aztec does: Dining services - by Cami Buckman and Adriana Heldiz, San Diego State University
Finalist: Innovative farming: Harvesting exotic plants in the Southwest - by Blake Hemmel, Arizona State University
Finalist: From right-hand man to a boss named Lefty - by Kristina Vicario, Arizona State University

Online/Digital Sports Videography
Winner: GCU's Russell gets 'one shining moment' on Final Four floor - by Zac Pacleb, Arizona State University
Finalist: A unique approach to training - by Blake Benard, Arizona State University
Finalist: ASU wins triathlon championship at home - by Luis Torres, Arizona State University

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