Belmont journalism and public relations students recently attended the Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC) in Oxford, Miss., where they finished second overall in on-site competition and landed four first place awards. The SEJC includes more than 40 member institutions from Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Arkansas and Alabama.
Linda Quigley, associate professor and faculty adviser for the Belmont Vision, and Thom Storey, associate dean for the School of Social Sciences, accompanied the Belmont contingent. Quigley and Storey are co-presidents-elect of SEJC, and Belmont will host the 2009 conference Feb. 12-14. Storey said, “I was so proud to accompany the Belmont Media Studies students and faculty member Linda Quigley to this year’s Southeast Journalism Conference. Competing against dozens of schools double or triple our size, and coming away as the second place program overall in the championship competition is a tribute to not only our students, but to the faculty who train them to be top notch practitioners who will have an impact on journalism in the years ahead.”
Belmont won the following awards at this year’s conference in the on-site and “Best of the South” competitions, which awards entries previously submitted from colleges and universities:
On-Site Competition:
– Feature Writing, Adaeze Elechi, First Place
– First Amendment Writing, Melanie Bengtson, First Place
– News Writing, Abby Selden, First Place
– Page Design-Magazine, Sarah Mitchell, First Place
– Entertainment Writing, Lance Conzett, Second Place
– Photography, Chris Speed, Third place
– Public Relations, Anne Roberts and Cheryl Bak, Third Place
“Best of the South” Competition:
– Best Journalism Research Paper, Henry Nichols (’07), Second Place
– Best Magazine Writer, Cody Badaracca, Fifth Place
– Best News Paper Page Design, Nathan Baker, Fifth Place
– Best Special Events Reporter, Abby Selden, Third Place
– Best Opinion/Editorial Writer, Adaeze Elechi, Third Place
– Best Sports Writer, Jordan Drake, Eighth Place
