BYU’s student newspaper, The Daily Universe, was recognized for outstanding achievements in journalism for original reporting and media works completed in 2018. The Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists awarded the various acknowledgments.
Utah, Idaho, Spokane, Associated Press Association
The 2018 Utah, Idaho, Spokane Associated Press Association competition judged 15 daily newspaper organizations and over 602 entries, consisting of photography, sports features and news articles.
The Associated Press is a not-for-profit news organization that holds annual contests to recognize work from various news organizations in their designated regions. The agency, which represents 1,400 newspapers and 5,000 broadcast stations in the United States, announced the winners for varying categories in March.
AP recognized The Daily Universe for the following awards
Feature Story:
- First place, McKenna Park, “Dating App Dangers: is Swiping Safe?”
- Third place, Marinda Risk, “Studies Show Religion Impacts Obesity, Health”
General Reporting:
- First place, Savannah Ius, “First Housing Shortage in Decades taking a Toll on Utah Buyers, Renters”
Graphic Artist:
- First place, Allie Jones, Joan Phillips and Jacob Baker, “BYU Student Orientation”
Best Website:
- First place, The Daily Universe Staff
Online: Special Package:
- First place, Kelsie Matheson, “Rural Utah Communities Powered on Coal”
- Second place, Lauren Malner, “Free Press or Oppressed: Why America Needs the Fourth Estate”
- Third place, Jenna Crowther, “Tell Me What’s Wrong: The Journey to Correctly Diagnose Bipolar Disorder”
Personal Column:
- Second place, Arianna Davidson, “One Experience Being Jewish in Today’s America”
Photo Illustration:
- First place, Josh Ellis, “Sugar Addictions Prominent in Mormon Culture”
- Second place, Ty Mullen, “Dating App Dangers: is Swiping Safe?”
Series or Special Project:
- First place, Kaitlyn Bancroft, Riley Waldman and Jillian Argento, “The Impact of Illegal Immigration: from the Mexican Border to Salt Lake City”
Sports Feature:
- Third place, Caleb Turner, “What are NCAA Athletes Allowed to Put in Their Bodies?”
Spot Sports Story:
- Second place, Caitlyn Alldredge, “NCAA Cracks Down on BYU Basketball over Nick Emery benefits”
- Third place, Caleb Turner, “Gonzaga Discourages Missionary Costumes at BYU Game”
Society of Professional Journalists Region 9 Competition Finalists
BYU also placed finalists in the Society of Professional Journalists Region 9 Conference. The conference takes submissions from news organizations in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and West Texas. The winners for the competition will be announced at a conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico April 6.
SPJ is the oldest U.S. institution representing journalists. It hosts an annual conference where top industry specialists speak on a plethora of topics.
The Daily Universe had finalists in the following areas:
- Caleb Turner, Online Sports Reporting
- Kelsie Matheson, Online News Reporting
- Lauren Malner, Online News Reporting
- Kaitlyn Bancroft, Riley Waldman, Jillian Argento, Online In-Depth Reporting
- Madalyn McRae, Online Feature Reporting
- Jenna Crowther, Online Feature Reporting
- McKayla Robinson, In-Depth Reporting (Large) 10,000+ Students
- Jefferson Jarvis, General News Reporting (Large) 10,000+ Students
- McKenna Park, Feature Writing (Large) 10,000+ Students
- BYU Daily Universe Staff, Best Affiliate Website
- BYU Daily Universe Staff, Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper
