Utah Statesman wins best newspaper in statewide journalism competition
The Utah Statesman brought home 12 awards on Thursday, including best newspaper at the Utah Headliners chapter for the Society of Professional Journalists statewide competition. The SPJ awards has two divisions among newspapers within Utah, with The Utah Statesman competing in the B division which is made up of applicants working at college and professional weeklies in Utah. The Statesman brought home 12 awards in 26 categories, four of those being first place.
Utah State Journalism and Communications’ professor Matthew LaPlante, and Carolina Peña, also received the Quintus C. Wilson Ethics Award. Their reporting focused on a dangerous crisis in El Salvador, sharing the stories of families who send their children on a journey to the United States to seek refuge from the violence that currently plagues the country in Central America. Physically being in El Salvador and reporting stories on families that are potentially in danger raised ethical questions concerning the use of aliases, photographs, and taking the steps necessary to protect both themselves, and their sources from harm.
The following lists the awards that The Utah Statesman won at the banquet in Salt Lake City at the banquet at The Falls Event Center in Salt Lake City on June 15.
Arts and entertainment:
“USU professor talks about feminism and diversity in media at Salt Lake Comic Con’s FanX” by Miranda Lorenc – Second Place
Best newspaper:
“The Utah Statesman” by The Utah Statesman Staff – First Place
Editorial:
“It’s time to stop doing nothing about guns” by The Utah Statesman Staff – First Place
Government:
“DREAMing of a better future” by Carter Moore – Third Place
Military:
“A vigil for the lives lost in battle” by Dillan Passmore – Third Place
Minority issues:
“‘Dreamers’ at USU fear DACA decision, Pres. Cockett urges Utah legislators to protect them” by Jackson Murphy – First Place
Religion/values:
“Satanic Temple co-founder promotes respect, secularism” by Alison Berg – First Place
Series:
“Torrey Green: Through the eyes of others; Torrey Green: The stories behind the accusations” by Alison Berg – Second Place
Sports column:
“A personal thank you to the man in the odd cap” by Logan Jones – Second Place
“On the flipside of the storybook ending” by Daniel Hansen – Third Place
Sports deadline reporting:
“No OT magic for Utah State as Aggies fall 26-20 in Arizona Bowl” by Logan Jones – Second Place
Spot news:
“Department of Justice investigating USU for Title IX practices” by Alison Berg – Third Place
The following awards were won by members of USU’s JCOM department.
Minority category
“Deportation fears prevent some Latinos in Cache Valley from going to church,” by Zachary Aedo – Third Place.
JCOM instructor and Aggie TV adviser Brian Champagne also won several awards in editing for his freelance video work, including first place in television editing, second place in television series and an honorable mention in the best videographer category.
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