USU Senior Wins National Recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists

Storee Powell continued her winning streak at the Society of Professional Journalist’s national competition May 3. The Utah State University senior was named a national finalist for her radio news reporting at Utah Public Radio, capturing the school’s first national SPJ award since 2005.

At the regional competition in April, Powell received four Mark of Excellence Awards for her work online for the “Hard News Café” and in radio broadcast, including two first place honors, which automatically qualified her for the national competition. Her story, “Circle the Wagons,” told of one woman’s struggle to find a greater purpose after her husband was shot and killed in Salt Lake City in 2007. It won first place for radio news reporting and was a runner-up at the national competition.

“Storee really is a versatile journalist, who specializes as a writer, but who really blossomed when she interned at Utah Public Radio (UPR) and added radio journalism to her repertoire,” said Ted Pease, head of the journalism and communication department at USU. “I’m particularly proud of Storee, who was in my beginning news writing class a couple of years ago and now is one of the best of the best in the country. She’s an excellent and sensitive storyteller. Her work is smart, comprehensive, in-depth, and passionate.”

Last year, the JCOM department partnered with UPR to give students the opportunity to hone their skills through paid internships. Powell was the first intern and worked for UPR over the summer, helping produce the show “Access Utah” and gaining her first taste of radio broadcast. At UPR, she was able to combine her interests in journalism and women’s studies and learn a new medium through which she could tell stories.

“In radio, I love that people have to listen to the whole broadcast to get the whole story,” Powell said, after the regional awards. “I can get people involved, listening intently and in a world that runs on fast all the time that is a great thing.”

During her internship, she worked alongside Kerry Bringhurst, news director for UPR, who helped her transition from writing solely for print, to writing for radio.

“Storee had a strong writing background when she came to us,” Bringhurst said. “She did not have radio experience, but she did have great ideas about what programs would work in radio — especially programs about women’s issues. We feel it is really important that we provide academic opportunities for the students. JCOM provides the basic writing and journalism training, and the internships at UPR allow students to utilize their skills in a different form. Writing for print is very different from writing for broadcast.”

The goal of the partnership was to enhance the journalism opportunities available through the JCOM department. While students are developing the skills needed to be successful in the newsroom or at the station during internships, they also provide a valuable service to UPR.

“Interns bring a unique perspective to what we do here, they bring the student perspective about what is happening in the world and what is important,” Bringhurst said. “It’s a really nice partnership, and the bottom line is it benefits the students.”

Powell was successful in merging her passion for reporting and her desire to promote social justice. Two of her stories concerning women’s issues won regional awards for on-air news and features. Since December, she has worked as an editor for the “Contemporary Western Women” project, a production of USU’s Center for Women and Gender that airs weekly on KUSU-FM, 91.5 FM. It features personal stories of inspiration told by contemporary women with western roots.