Student Journalists are Best of the South Again

Once again, journalism students at Florida A&M University (FAMU) have been named “Best of the South” by the Southeast Journalism Conference. Each year, the FAMU School of Journalism and Graphic Communication (SJGC) sends its students to compete with peers from eight states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee. This year’s winners were announced Feb. 19 at the 25th annual conference in Troy, Ala. The competition included 331 entries from 33 schools.

Marcus Scott, a senior public relations major, won first place in the on-site public relations competition. Scott represented FAMU by himself in a category that allowed teams of three.

“This win just proves that the education I am getting here at FAMU is top notch,” said Scott. “I was not intimidated. I approached it like a normal assignment that one of my professors would assign on any regular day. I feel validated and secure that I will make it in the PR industry after graduation.”

Journey Magazine won five awards including second place for Best College Magazine and fourth place for Best College Website (journeymagonline.com).

“Each year, our students continue to amaze me,” said Laura Downey, journalism professor and Journey Magazine advisor. “It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to see the Journey staff interact with students from other universities.”

The complete list of FAMU winners include:

Best Public Relations, first place, Marcus Scott
Best Sports Writer, fourth place, Clarece Polke, The FAMUAN
Best Feature Writer, seventh place, Jordan Culver, The FAMUAN
Best College TV Station, fourth place, FAMU TV 20
Best TV Journalist, fourth place, Karisa Olds, FAMU TV News 20 at 5
Best College Magazine, second place, Journey Magazine
Best Magazine Layout Designer, second place, Ashleigh Beverly
Best Multimedia Journalist, third place, Kristen Swilley
Best Magazine Writer, third place, Brandon Neasman, Journey Magazine
Best College Website, Journey Magazine

SJGC students have won more than 20 awards in journalism contests this month alone, including several received at the National HBCU Student News Media competition in Columbia, S.C. The awards include:

Best Student Newspaper, first place, The FAMUAN
Best Online Multimedia Package, first place and second place
Best Opinion Writing, first place, Brandon Neasman, The FAMUAN
Best Editorial/Opinion Sections, second place, The FAMUAN
Best Sports Feature, second place, Clarece Polk, The FAMUAN
Best News Coverage, third place, The FAMUAN
Best Individual Page Design, third place, Jeffrey Morris, The FAMUAN
Best Opinion Writing, third place, Tineisha Sulker, The FAMUAN

For more information about the journalism program at FAMU, contact Division Director Dorothy Bland at (850) 599-3718. For more information about the 2011 SEJC Best of the South Competition contact Michael Chute at (731) 661-6594. For more information about the National HBCU Student News Media competition, contact Valerie White at (850) 599-3650.