BYU NewsNet swept a regional journalism awards ceremony in Denver Saturday, taking top honors in every general category entered.
NewsNet, the consolidated news operation of The Daily Universe, KBYU-TV, KBYU-FM, CCN-TV and NewsNet@BYU, was recognized as having the best collegiate daily newspaper, television news program and Web news site in Region 9 of the country’s largest professional journalism society.
Region 9 for the Society of Professional Journalists includes Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming. The group has professional chapters in most major cities and more than 200 student chapters on college campuses throughout the country.
NewsNet also took first place awards in general news reporting, television sports photography, broadcast in-depth reporting, print in-depth reporting, television news feature, radio news feature, print news feature, sports column, sports photography, editorial cartooning and television sports reporting.
Six second place awards and three third place awards were also part of BYU’s winnings.
“These awards, coupled with the NewsNet Web site being again recognized as the best collegiate Web site in the country by Editor and Publisher magazine, demonstrate that BYU’s Department of Communications has built a highly successful consolidated prototype newsroom for the future of the industry,” said John Gholdston, managing director of NewsNet. “Fears that cross training journalists in print, broadcast and Web would weaken their ability to write are being put to rest. BYU students have risen to the challenge and walked home with the awards.”
All first place winners are automatically forwarded to the SPJ national competition. National award winners will then be announced at the group’s annual conference in October.
The winners and their categories were:
First place: television daily newscast, KBYU-TV; online newspaper, BYU NewsNet; daily newspaper, The Daily Universe; television sports photography, Chad Lawson, broadcast in-depth reporting, KBYU-TV; television feature, Deric C. Nance; general news reporting, Lenny Gray; radio feature, Ryan Rauzon; sports photography, Jennifer Parrish; print in-depth reporting, Miki Meek, Kristen Sonne, Tanya Smith, Jill Davies and Elyssa Madsen; print feature writing, Miki Meek,; sports column writing, Elizabeth Palmer; editorial cartooning, Ben Sowards.
Second place: television sports reporting, Lenny Gray; in-depth reporting, Deric C. Nance; general news reporting, Deric C. Nance; sports photography, Jennifer Parrish; print sports writing, Elizabeth Palmer; print spot news, Matthew Baker; general column writing, Pete Thunell.
Third Place: television sports reporting, Chad Lawson, print sports writing, Jason Habermeyer; sports column writing, Adam Whitten.
