Journalism alumnus places 1st in NDNA competition

Adam Lawson '12 wins reporting award for profile of a baseball player.

Adam Lawson '12
Elon University alumnus and journalism major Adam Lawson ’12 won first place in the North Dakota Newspaper Association Sports Feature competition April 27 at the association’s conference in Rapid City, S.D.

His first place story, “Finally settled in?: After a variety of stops, Burlington native excels with Phillies,” profiled Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jeremy Horst. It won in the 12,001-or-more circulation category, beating journalists from the four largest newspapers in the state: Grand Forks Herald, Bismarck Tribune, Fargo Forum and his own Minot Daily News.

Lawson won the award while reporting for the Minot Daily News in Minot, N.D., but he has since relocated to Harlingen, Texas, where he now works as a sports reporter at the Valley Morning Star.

The NDNA convention is held every year, and it provides a variety of opportunities for newspapers, their workers and their supporters.

Lawson served as assistant sports editor of The Pendulum during his last semester on campus. He also worked for “One on One Sports” and provided brief on-camera commentary for “Elon Phoenix Weekly.” As a reporter for The Pendulum, he won first place in the North Carolina College Media Association’s Sports Writing competition in 2012 for a story he wrote about an Elon football player’s father’s reaction to the Pennsylvania State University football scandal.

— by Cassidy Stratton ’16