JACKSON, Tenn. — Feb. 19, 2009 — Two 黑料论坛 journalism students won first place in competitions at the Southeastern Journalism Conference Feb. 12-14 in Nashville, Tenn.
Jonathan Huskey, who graduated in May, won first place in the 鈥渂est sports writer鈥 category in the 鈥淏est of the South鈥 competition. In the on-site competitions, freshman Katherine Pullen took first place in the feature writing category.
The Southeastern Journalism Conference consists of 68 member schools, including all the major journalism programs in seven states: Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas. About 300 students from across the South attended this year鈥檚 conference at Belmont University, including students from the University of Alabama, the University of Mississippi, Vanderbilt University, Florida State University, Auburn University and many other major institutions.
Ten Union students attended the conference.
鈥淲e took our highest awards ever in the writing categories, and continued to do well in the photography and graphics categories,鈥 Union journalism professor Michael Chute said. 鈥淪EJC is a tough competition because we are only allowed to enter one student in each category, and that individual cannot enter another category. So it鈥檚 who we determine to be our best in each category up against the other universities鈥 best in each category.鈥
In the 鈥淏est of the South鈥 competition, students submitted their entries prior to the conference for judging. Other Union students who won awards in that competition were: Emily Rawls, second place, best editorial artist; Kyle Kurlick, second place, best press photographer; and Sarah McBroom, third place, best news reporter.
Other Union students who won awards in the on-site competitions were: Katie Shatzer, second place, news writing; Katherine Kipp, third place, entertainment writing; Elizabeth Wood and Daniel Callicott, third place, public relations campaign.
In addition, the Cardinal and Cream, Union鈥檚 student newspaper, won eighth place overall in the on-site competition out of about 30 different newspapers. It was the Cardinal and Cream鈥檚 highest ever finish.
鈥淥f course, the conference was more than competitions, but it is good to see how our journalism program stacks up against the larger programs in the South,鈥 Chute said. 鈥淥ur students are doing very well, compared to programs in other schools, as they learn the craft of journalism.鈥