Press Association honors work by journalism students

Stories, page designs and photos created by students from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications won a cross section of awards in this year’s Collegiate Press Association competition of the S.C. Press Association.

Winners in that competition, which recognizes work from the previous year, were announced during the SCPA’s winter meeting last month in Columbia. Student work earning high marks was published in The Carolina Reporter, the laboratory newspaper of the SJMC’s print senior semester, and in The Daily Gamecock, the editorially-independent student newspaper of the University of South Carolina.

The Daily Gamecock took first place in the “Best Overall Competition,” Division I with The Carolina Reporter earning second place in that category. In the photograph category, first place honors went to Marjorie Riddle for her work as part of a special project on death and dying published in The Carolina Reporter. Riddle now works as a reporter for The State. “The photo tells the story,” the judges said of Riddle’s picture. Second place winner was Juan Blas for The Daily Gamecock.

In the illustration/informational graphic category, Mike Conway of The Daily Gamecock won first place for what judges described as a “clever combination of text and graphics.” Tim McManus, now working as a reporter for The Camden Chronicle, won second place for work published in The Carolina Reporter. Chas McCarthy, an SJMC graduate now with The Sun-News in Myrtle Beach, won second place in front page layout and design for a page done for the Daily Gamecock.

First place in the arts and entertainment story category went to Mark Sieckman of The Carolina Reporter with third place going to Kimberly Hunt of The Carolina Reporter. Second place went to Caroline DeSanctis of The Daily Gamecock. The judges said Sieckman’s work employed “a good lead” and “great use of some really good quotes.”

Sieckman, who plans to attend graduate school, also won first place in the news writing category – along with Patrick Cauley of The Carolina Reporter – for a double byline story. Rebekah Buffington, journalism minor, took second place in news writing for work done for The Carolina Reporter. In sports story, the Daily Gamecock’s Tom Benning took third place with Savi Smith of The Daily Gamecock earning second place. In feature writing, Jess David of The Gamecock took first place with Hunt of The Carolina Reporter taking second place.