The Daily Universe, BYU’s student newspaper, won 10 awards in the National Newspaper Association’s 2019 Better Newspaper Contest, including first place for General Excellence in the college daily and non-daily division.
“I am beyond blown away that this is a student publication. It is so professional looking. Beyond being a very attractive publication (great consistency and use of design styles, good use of AP style!) it is packed full of thought provoking articles,” read one judge’s comments for the general excellence category.
The Daily Universe design team also impressed the judges by claiming the first place title in the category of Best Newspaper Promotion.
Individual and group awards were also given to members of the Daily Universe staff and design team for excellence in reporting and advertising.
McKenna Park won first place in the category of Best Breaking News Story for reporting on a woman who filed a lawsuit in federal court against a former Missionary Training Center President who allegedly raped her when she was a missionary in 1984.
A judge commented, “The subject of this story went to the Church, ‘seeking help, seeking justice, seeking accountability. She wasn’t believed.’ Great work with a challenging issue.”
Other first place winners are:
- Jenna Crowther for her story “‘Tell Me What’s Wrong:’ The Journey to Correctly Diagnose Bipolar Disorder” in the Best Health Story category
- Kaitlyn Bancroft, Riley Waldman, Jillian Argento and Dani Jardine on their story, “The Impact of Illegal Immigration: From the Mexican Border to Salt Lake City” in the Best Investigative or In-Depth Story Series category
- Kelsie Matheson for her story “Rural Utah Communities Powered on Coal” in the Best Business Feature category
Third place winners are:
- Joan Phillips and Jacob Baker for Best Use of Ad Color in the advertising contest.
- Sam Bigelow for his story “BYU responds to police decertification decision” in the Best Breaking News Category.
Honorable mentions are:
- Arianna Davidson for Best Serious Column
- Joan Phillips for Best Advertising Idea
