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ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ student journalists took home eight prestigious Mark of Excellence Awards (MOE) for 2024 from the Society of Professional Journalists, Region 8, including the coveted “Best Ongoing Student Magazine” award. Another five entries from ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ were noted as finalists in their categories.

Students were also honored with 13 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) awards for 2024, including first place wins for Headline Writing and Cover Design: Newspaper.

All three of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Meadows’ student media outlets were represented among the winners in both contests: The Daily Campus, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Look and ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½-TV, with awards across reporting, design, podcasting, social media, broadcasting and photography categories.The TIPA and MOE contests are highly competitive, and this was a great showing by our students, said Melissa Chessher, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½’s Belo Foundation Endowed Distinguished Chair in Journalism.

“What is notable about these wins is that they highlight the strength of all three arms of our student media operation and the incredible and talented professors who advise these operations,” Chessher said. “They spend a great deal of time coaching and working with these gifted student journalists.”

The staff of The Daily Campus won MOE and TIPA awards across reporting specialties, including radio reporting and podcasting, breaking news, and investigative reporting. ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Look Media, the Division of Journalism’s fashion brand that includes a digital site and award-winning magazine, swept creative awards including for cover design for ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Look magazine, graphic design, story package design, and illustration. It also won reporting awards for general column writing and for arts, entertainment, and fashion journalism. ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½-TV won an MOE award for feature reporting.  

SPJ Region 8 represents colleges and universities across Texas and Oklahoma. The eight MOE award winners from ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ will now compete nationally with winners from the other SPJ regions later this spring.

“When I look at the wins from this year, it exemplifies the versatility of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½’s Journalism program,” said Jacquelyn Fellows, Professor of Practice in the Division of Journalism and the faculty advisor to The Daily Campus. “Recognition of student journalism comes at a crucial time, and these awards are a reminder that students are part of telling ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½’s story.”

Here is a list of the winners in both contests:

2024 SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards, Region 8

Best Ongoing Student Magazine

Winner: The DC: Untold stories at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ — by Staff, The Daily Campus, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

Finalist: Staff, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Look Media, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

Feature Writing 

Winner: A tale of two Janes — by Ellen Rogers, The Daily Campus, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

Photo Illustration

Winner: Pop! — by Ellen Rogers, Grace Bair, Katie Bergelin, The Daily Campus, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

Podcast (Conversational)

Winner: Ask the expert: From banking to baking — by Breanna Laureti, The Daily Campus, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

*This is the third consecutive year The DC has won this category.

Food/Restaurant Journalism

Winner: Michelin meets the Lone Star State — by Sydney Strollo, The Daily Campus, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

Arts/Entertainment/Fashion Journalism

Winner: “Click, post … passe?” — by Virginia Wall, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Look Media, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

Television Feature Reporting

Winner: Chris Young: From poverty to prison to Dallas — by Brian Richardson, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½-TV, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

Radio News Reporting

Winner: Brothel law’ stirs tension between students and neighborhood residents — by Sydney Schulze, Bella Monaco, KERA News, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

Breaking News Reporting 

Finalist: Rashee Rice and Teddy Knox involved in high-speed crash — by Staff, The Daily Campus, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

Personality Profile 

Finalist: “Meet Mama T, the heart of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½’s Umphrey Lee Dining Hall” — by Melanie Jackson, The Daily Campus, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

General Column Writing

Finalist: Tyler Talks Fashion — by Tyler Martin, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Look Media Digital, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

Illustration

Finalist: “Click, post … passe?” — by Carrington Miller, Maddie Miller, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Look Media, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

Investigative Reporting

Finalist: Residents and students clash in University Park over ‘brothel law’ ordinance — by Sydney Schulze, KERA-FM, ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Methodist University

2024 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) Awards

Cover Design: Newspaper

First Place: “Untold Stories at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½” – Daily Campus Staff

Headline Writing

First Place: Daily Campus Editorial Team – Liz Cruz, Melanie Jackson, Katie Bergelin

Social Media: General Coverage

Second Place: “Solar Eclipse” – Daily Campus Staff

Static Information Graphic

Second Place: “Jorts! The baggy jeans shorts everyone loves to hate are back – and more popular than ever.” – Maddie Miller, Tami Olujobi

Cover Design: General Magazine

Second Place: ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Look Spring 2024 – Leighton Cottrell, Maddie Miller, Juan Silva, Arden Eiland

Podcast

Third Place: “The Pony Pod: Ask the Expert, From Banking to Baking” – Breanna Laureti

Narrative Reporting

Third Place: “Michelin Meets the Lone Star State” – Sydney Strollor

Story Package Design: Magazine

Third Place: “Purse Pursuit” – Angelica Koutsoubis, Maddie Miller, Juan Silva, Leighton Cottrell

Breaking News

Third Place: “Multimillion dollar lawsuits filed against Knox, Rice for crash” - Caleigh Daugherty, Ceara Johnson

Overall Excellence: Social Media

Honorable Mention: ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Daily Campus Social Media – Grace Bair, Sydney Strollo, Sara Hummadi

Cover Design – Newspaper

Honorable Mention: “Pop!” - Ellen Rogers, Grace Bair, Katie Bergelin

Narrative Reporting

Honorable Mention: A Tale of Two Janes – Ellen Rogers

Blog

Honorable Mention: ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½Look.com – ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½ Look staff