U of A Journalism Students Win Mark of Excellence Awards

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Students in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences have been awarded five regional Mark of Excellence Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. 

The award honors the best in student journalism from each of the 12 regions in the United States. U of A students compete in SPJ's Region 12, which comprises Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Western Tennessee. The entries were judged by professionals with at least three years of journalism experience.

U of A winners include: 

• Karen Sue McKenzie in the category of Non-Fiction Magazine Article: "Let's Talk About Sex," published in Hill Magazine, about the lack of sex education in the South and how it has contributed to the rise of STDs. McKenzie earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism with a concentration in news-editorial in 2019.
• Miranda Stith in the category of Breaking News Reporting. Stith is a sophomore majoring in social work and journalism with a concentration in news-editorial.
• Rachel Roberts in the category of Online Feature Reporting: "A Female Dialect: Misogyny Catcalls, Here Is Our Response," also published in Hill Magazine, about her experience being harassed while studying abroad. Roberts earned a Bachelor of Arts in journalism with a concentration in news-editorial in 2019.
• Alex Nicoll in the category of Online In-Depth Reporting: "Number Of STI Cases Worst In Four Years Nationwide," about the rise of sexually transmitted infections, in The Arkansas Traveler. Nicoll is the former editor-in-chief of The Traveler and now works for The Houston Chronicle and Fortune. 
• The UATV staff in the category of Best All-Around TV Newscast for a newscast aired live Dec. 9, 2019. It included stories about the murder of Fayetteville Police Officer Steven Carr and the hiring of Razorback head football coach Sam Pittman. 
• Hill Magazine, the U of A's student-produced magazine, in the category of Best Magazine. This is the fifth year in a row Hill Magazine has been awarded this distinction.

Robyn Starling Ledbetter, director of student media, said that she was "thrilled" to see the students' hard work recognized. "These award-winning publications are from hours of dedicated student journalists," she said.

Larry Foley, chair of the School of Journalism and Strategic Media, expressed his pride in the students' work: "These awards are indicative of the high quality of work being produced by the students in our program who are also writing and producing for student media. They also shine a bright light on the excellent teaching and mentoring of our faculty."

Regional winners would normally be recognized at regional conferences, however, all SPJ regional conferences have been either canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Regional winners have been notified by email and will receive their award certificates in the mail.

These regional winners will go on to compete at the national level with winners from the other 11 SPJ regions. National winners will be notified in the late spring.