Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

Merrill Takes Most First-Place Awards
in SPJ Mark of Excellence Regional Competition

For immediate release, April. 2, 2007

COLLEGE PARK, Md.— Students of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland took home more first-place awards in the Region 2 Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence competition than any other school in the region. The results, announced at Saturday’s regional SPJ conference in Richmond, Va., included 11 first place honors, 10 second and four third.

The nods included work in online news and features, television production and reporting and radio programs. The campus independent student daily newspaper, The Diamondback, placed second in all-around excellence.

This year’s competition saw more than 3,300 entries in 39 categories across SPJ’s 12 regions.

First place winners will advance to the national competition, with winners to be announced in mid-May and awarded at the organization’s national convention in September. This year’s SPJ National convention will be held in Washington, D.C.

The regional winners from Maryland are:

Online News Reporting:
First Place: Jennifer Fu, Nick Sekkas, Damon Curry, "Final Auction?"
Second Place: Lindsay Diokno, Shelly Buter, Nick Sekkas, Alan McCombs, "Teens and Technology"

Online Feature Reporting:
First Place: Alan McCombs, "Ghostly tales offered on university tours"

Online In-Depth Reporting:
First Place: Capital News Service and Maryland Newsline, "Maryland Votes 2006"
Second Place: Melissa Pachikara, "Green Energy"

Best Affiliated Web site:
First Place: Maryland Newsline, Capital News Service and CNS-TV Staffs

Radio News Reporting:
Second Place: Dawn Cherie White, "Campus Voting"

Radio Feature:
First Place: Eric Schaffer, "Shakespeare"
Second Place: Elizabeth Jia, "Student Parents"

Radio In-Depth Reporting:
First Place: Katey Welhouse, "Cocaine: The Forgotten Drug?"
Third Place: Josh Rosenthal, "Pumped Up"

Radio Sports Reporting:
First Place: Josh Rosenthal, "Pumped Up"

Radio Newscast:
Second Place: "Terp Weekly Edition"

Television Breaking News:
First Place: Bonny Ghosh, "Beltway Accident"
Second Place: Catherine Citroni, "Bowie Storm Damage"
Third Place: Nicole Alberico, "Gallaudet Violence"

Television General News:
First Place: Jackie Congedo, "Seasonal Workers"
Third Place: Nicole Alberico, "Campaign Ads"

Television Feature:
Third Place: Danielle Hayner

Television In-Depth:
First Place: Bonny Ghosh, "Baltimore Drug Problem"

Television Sports Reporting:
Second Place: Nicole Alberico, "DC Divas"

Television News Photography:
Second Place: Catherine Citroni, "Tenant Protest"

Television Feature Photography:
First Place: Chris Williams, "Boat Living

Television Newscast:
Second Place: Maryland Newsline

Best All-Around Daily Student Newspaper (published at least 4 times per week):
2nd Place: The Diamondback

The students in the online, radio and television competitions work under the supervision of faculty instructor/editors: online news work under the Capital News Service Online Bureau Director Chris Harvey; television under Cassandra Clayton, Kevin Swift, Sue Kopen Katcef and Dr. Lee Thornton; and radio students work with Katcef.

About SPJ: “The Society of Professional Journalists works to improve and protect journalism. The organization is the nation’s most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior.

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarentees of freedom of speech and press.”

For more information contact: Matthew C. Sheehan at 301.405.8320.