ASU students dominate regional journalist contest
Cronkite student Lillian Donahue was among the winners in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Awards competition for Region 11.
For the 18th year in a row, students at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication dominated the regional Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Awards competition.
Cronkite students won 41 awards, one more than the combined total of the second-place, third-place and fourth-place schools in the SPJ Region 11 Contest. They took home 13 first-place awards and 28 finalist honors.
Over the past decade, Cronkite students have tallied 458 awards in the contest, the most of any journalism program in the region, which includes Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands and Nevada.
“We’re very proud of our students and the faculty who guide them,” said Kristin Gilger, senior associate dean of the Cronkite School. “They consistently produce work that not only wins contests but informs and educates readers and viewers all over the state and region.”
The Cronkite School swept four SPJ categories: broadcast sports videography, online/digital sports videography, online opinion and commentary, and television sports reporting.
Cronkite News, the student-produced news division of Arizona PBS, produced winning entries for the sweeps in broadcast sports videography and television sports reporting. In all, Cronkite News collected 24 awards. Stories included in-depth coverage of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and the 2017 NCAA Men’s Final Four.
Students also were recognized for “Querétaro: Promise of Prosperity for Mexico,” a multimedia reporting project that examined the complicated relationship between the U.S. and its southern neighbor. The project, which sent 20 students to one of the smallest states in Mexico, won in the broadcast news videography category and was a finalist in two other categories.
“Hooked Rx: From Prescription to Addiction” took two awards — in online news reporting and online in-depth reporting — for an examination of the growing opioid epidemic in Arizona. The project included a dozen digital stories as well as a documentary that aired on all major broadcast TV stations in the state and reached 900,000 people.
ASU’s student-run media organizations also performed well in the contest. The Downtown Devil, an online publication focused on Phoenix and the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus, was named the best independent online student publication and had two finalist honors in online opinion and commentary. The State Press, ASU’s student news outlet, took first place in online opinion and commentary and was a finalist in online/digital sports videography and sports column writing.
This year’s regional awards were presented at the SPJ Region 11 Conference in Los Angeles on April 28. Winners of the 12 regional SPJ competitions go on to another round of judging in the national SPJ competition. Those winners will be announced at the Excellence in Journalism conference in Baltimore Sept. 27–29.
The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ has nearly 10,000 members.
The complete list of Cronkite’s regional SPJ winners:
Best Independent Online Student Publication
Winner: Staff of Downtown Devil
Breaking News Photography (Large) 10,000+ Students
Winner: Dustin Quiroz, “Peace please,” Cronkite News
Broadcast Feature Videography
Winner: Kristina Vicario, Louisa Stanwich and Allie Barton, “MANZO”
Broadcast News Videography
Winner: Lillian Donahue, “Trade drives rise of middle class in Mexico,” Querétaro: Promise of Prosperity for Mexico
Broadcast Sports Videography
Winner: Tyler Paley, “Fighting for Fearlessness,” Cronkite News
Finalist : Sydney Cariel, “Forrest Snow: Ball player by day, musician by night,” Cronkite News
Finalist: Troy Lynch, “Swimming helps horses for race day,” Cronkite News
Online/Digital News Videography
Winner: Melanie Abramoff, “Unstable ground in Pinal County,” Cronkite News
Online/Digital Sports Videography
Winner: Zac Pacleb, “GCU's Russell gets 'one shining moment' on Final Four floor,” Cronkite News
Finalist: Blake Benard, “A unique approach to training,” Cronkite News
Finalist: Luis Torres, “ASU wins triathlon championship at home,” The State Press
Online Feature Reporting
Winner: Kristina Vicario, “From right-hand man to a boss named Lefty,” Medium
Finalist: Lillian Donahue, “75 years later, family able to honor USS Oklahoma sailor killed in Pearl Harbor attack,” Hawaii News Now
Online News Reporting
Winner: Ryan Santistevan and Ben Moffat, “Opioid overdose deaths continue to mount,” Hooked Rx: From Prescription to Addiction
Finalist: Megan Janetsky and Johanna Huckeba, “Mexicans work to reclaim corn as their own,” Querétaro: Promise of Prosperity for Mexico
Online Opinion & Commentary
Winner: State Press Editorial Board, “Charlie Rose’s actions do not reflect excellence in journalism”
Finalist: Ryan Boyd, “Phoenix Rising” columns, Downtown Devil
Finalist: Faith Miller and Serena O'Sullivan, “Curtain Critic” columns, Downtown Devil
Radio In-Depth Reporting
Winner: Adrienne St. Clair, “Mexicans and Americans – A complicated relationship,” Cronkite News
Finalist: Adrienne St. Clair and Andrew Nicla, “In focus: DACA special report,” Cronkite News
Television In-Depth Reporting
Winner: Lillian Donahue, “Trade drives rise of middle class in Mexico,” Querétaro: Promise of Prosperity for Mexico
Television Sports Reporting
Winner: Tyler Paley, “Fighting for fearlessness,” Cronkite News
Finalist: Kelly Broderick, “Ability360 uses basketball to inspire amputees,” Cronkite News
Finalist: Troy Lynch, “Swimming makes horses better prepared for racing,” Cronkite News
Best All-Around Television Newscast
Finalist: Maya Patrose, Chase Boeke and Jade Nicole Yeban, Cronkite News: Nov. 16, 2017 newscast
Best Use of Multimedia
Finalist: Cassie Ronda, “Opioids and the body: the science of an overdose,” Cronkite News
Feature Photography (Large) 10,000+ Students
Finalist: Johanna Huckeba, “What's one more?” Cronkite News
Online In-Depth Reporting
Finalist: Sophia Kunthara, “NAFTA changes would affect both sides of the border,” Querétaro: Promise of Prosperity for Mexico
Finalist: Joshua Bowling, “Arizona’s emergency rooms have treated thousands of addicts hooked on opioids,” Hooked Rx: From Prescription to Addiction
Online Sports Reporting
Finalist: Brittany Bowyer, “The flipside of cheerleading: a prevalence of catastrophic injuries,” Cronkite News
Online/Digital Feature Videography
Finalist: Blake Hemmel, “Innovative farming: Harvesting exotic plants in the Southwest,” Cronkite News
Finalist: Kristina Vicario, “From right-hand man to a boss named Lefty,” Medium
Radio Feature
Finalist: Roddy Nikpour, “In focus: Social media memorialization and ‘cybergraves,’” Cronkite News
Finalist: Ben Flores and Tea Francesca Price, “In focus: Service dog helps navigate life with autism,” Cronkite News
Radio News Reporting
Finalist: Freesia DeNaples and Tea Francesca Price, “In focus: What defunding Planned Parenthood could mean for Arizonans,” Cronkite News
Sports Column Writing
Finalist: Paul Slobodzian, “ASU football should be able to attract top recruits; Phoenix is not the place to be for seasoned sports fans; CTE will be the end of football,” The State Press
Sports Photography (Large) 10,000+ Students
Finalist: Blake Benard, “Barry Bonds remains center of attention in return to alma mater,” Arizona Sports
Television Breaking News Reporting
Finalist: Fortesa Latifi, “Steve Bannon comes to Tucson, hundreds protest,” Cronkite News
Television Feature Reporting
Finalist: Adriana De Alba, “Agricultural program helps Navajo students on reservation,” Cronkite News
Finalist: Sydney Isenberg, “Firefighters train to pass annual physical fitness test,” Cronkite News
Television General News Reporting
Finalist: Drew Marine, “Battle over bison,” Cronkite News
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