JEM Students Earn Regional Journalism Accolades
Students from the UT School of Journalism and Electronic Media (JEM) competed at the Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC), taking home two onsite victories and a wide range of additional awards. This year’s conference was held Feb. 14-16 at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
JEM assembled an eight-journalist squad to participate in the onsite competition for the first time, finishing in a third-place tie with Lipscomb University in team scoring. The competition required a well-rounded group of specialists from writers and editors to photographers and broadcast reporters. The top three competitors for each division were recognized, including first-place finishes by Tyler Wombles in sports writing and Haley Harbin in copyediting.
UT students also took part in the Best of the South competition, which judged selected entries sent in advance of the competition. Tennessee recorded 10 top-10 results in a number of categories. Notably, Andrew Capps scored a pair of top-10 finishes, placing fifth in Best Features Writer and 10th in Best News Writer for his articles from the Knoxville News Sentinel. Olivia Johnston was second in Best Radio Hard News Reporter for her clips from WUTK 90.3 FM, and Evan Newell took third place in the Best Opinion/Editorial Writer competition for his “From Hill to Hill” columns in The Daily Beacon.
The Daily Beacon placed seventh in the Best College Newspaper contest.
The SEJC includes 32 colleges and universities from seven states across the region. The Best of the South Competition included 442 entries from 31 members. Top-three rankings came from 24 schools and first-place finishes from 16 schools.
SEJC Onsite Competition – UT School of Journalism and Electronic Media Results
Abby Bower, third, feature writing
Christy White, second, news writing
Gabriela Szymanowska, second, photo feature
Tyler Wombles, first, sports writing
Haley Harbin, first, copyediting
(Also competing: Vanessa Rodriguez, arts and entertainment writing; Jake Albright, TV news reporting; Anslee Daniel, TV news anchoring.)
Best of the South – UT School of Journalism and Electronic Media Results
Andrew Capps, Best Feature Writer (fifth of 33) for articles appearing in the Knoxville News Sentinel
Andrew Capps, Best News Writer (10th of 37) for articles appearing in the Knoxville News Sentinel
Sophie Grosserode, Best Feature Writer (sixth of 33) for articles appearing in The Daily Times (Maryville, Tennessee)
Olivia Johnston, Best Radio Hard News Reporter (second of four), WUTK 90.3 FM
Lexie Little, Best Opinion/Editorial Writer (10th of 29), The Tennessee Journalist (TNJN.com)
Evan Newell, Best Opinion/Editorial Writer (third of 29), The Daily Beacon
Elisa Razak, Best Newspaper Page Layout Designer (fifth of 15), The Daily Beacon
Noah Taylor, Best Sports Writer (seventh of 30), The Daily Beacon
Blake Von Hagen, Best Sports Writer (fourth of 30), The Daily Beacon
The Daily Beacon, Best College Newspaper (seventh of 17)