Hall School of Journalism collects numerous awards

Troy University Hall School of Journalism students represented themselves well in recent award ceremonies.

Several Troy University students in the Hall school of Journalism were honored in the Mark of Excellence Awards presented by the Society of Professional Journalism, which honors the best in student journalism.

Categories for this award consist of print, radio, television, and online collegiate journalism. The regional level is judged first. Those who win first place will move on to the next level, the national competition. The students who move to the national competition are usually recognized at the regional SPJ Conference in spring 2020.

The Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC) took place Thursday, Feb. 13 through Saturday, Feb. 15, with Trojans taking home awards in 13 categories.

These students performed well at the conference because of their hands-on experience through opportunities such as TrojanVision, where they produce three stories a day, and the Tropolitan, TROY’s student newspaper, where they produce news daily.

Most of the faculty and staff in the Hall School of Journalism at Troy University have worked in professional settings, which gives them a better understanding to further help grow and teach the students.

“As an instructor, it is so exciting seeing the students do so well,” said Dr. Robbyn Taylor, Hall School of Journalism and Communication Lecturer . “I see how hard the students work, and seeing them do so well at the SEJC Conference allowed them to get the validation [that] other people recognize how hard they are working as well.”

Troy University brought home 13 individual awards from SEJC 2020, which took place at the University of Southern Mississippi.

The list of winners is detailed below. TROY will host the 2022 conference.

Meanwhile, TROY took home the Best Radio Spot News Award from the 2020 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System awards in New York City, at which the University was nominated in six categories.

“Our journalism students continue to show their passion and dedication to their craft through the excellent work they produce for the Tropolitan, TrojanVision and Troy Public Radio,” Taylor said. “This validation through these awards shows that our program, and our students, are top-notch. These students are preparing for a lifetime of public service and ethical journalism for the world and we could not be prouder to celebrate this achievement.”

Below is a list of SPJ and SEJC winners from Troy University. TROY was also recognized as ranking 8^th in SEJC team on-site competition.

SPJ Awards

Editorial cartooning – Abigail Nicholson

Sports photography – Pawan Khanal

Sports writing – Scott Shelton

Radio in-depth reporting – Jason Snyder

Radio feature – Octavius Ausbon

TV breaking news reporting – Brady Talbert

SEJC On-site Competition

Opinion Editorial Writing

Pradyot Sharma – 1st place

TV News Reporting