Elon University was recognized widely in the Society of Professional Journalists Region 2 Mark of Excellence Awards.
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Elon News Network was honored with Best Television Newscast and Best Affiliated Website honors in Region 2 of the Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards competition at the regional conference held April 6 in Ocean City, Maryland. Additionally, five students and two alumni won regional honors across several categories of the SPJ contest.
SPJ Region 2 Mark of Excellence Awards are given in newspaper, TV, radio and online categories. Awards are presented only to those who place in the top three in the region. Regional winners move on to the national competition, at which time they will compete with 11 other first-place regional winners.
Below is a list of the regional winners:
- Elon News Network for Best Affiliated Website
- “Elon Local News” for Best Television Newscast for shows from March 12, 2018, and Oct. 18, 2018
- Anton Delgado ’20 for Breaking News Reporting for “Rains from Tropical Story Michael drench Elon”
- Alex Hager ’19 and Emmanuel Morgan ’19 for General News Reporting for “As Silent Sam is toppled, conversation around Confederate monuments continues”
- Jack Haley ’21 for Sports Writing for “Legacies and legends: Women’s basketball preps for match-up with UNC”
- Anton Delgado ’20 for Breaking News Photography for “Scenes from Tropical Storm Michael”
- Stephanie Hays ’18 for Feature Photography for “Planting an Oak Sapling”
- Stephanie Hays ’18 for General News Photography for “Confederate Memorial Day”
- Stephanie Hays ’18 for Photo Illustration for “Intersectionality”
- Jessica Rapfogel ’19 for Sports Photography for “Globetrotters”
- Paul LeBlanc ’18 for Online In-Depth Reporting for “In Belmarsh Prison: Radicalization or De-radicalization?”
- Alex Hager ’19 for Podcast for Nov. 16, 2018, and Dec. 7, 2018, episodes
The regional finalists were:
- Anton Delgado ’20 for In-Depth Reporting for “Non-tenure-track faculty fight to unionize at Elon,” “Continuing- and lecturing-track no longer represented by union movement” and “How labor laws would affect a union at Elon”
- Liam O’Connor ’21 for Feature Photography for “Students tailgate at Elon”
- Meghan Kimberling ’20 for Photo Illustration for “Growing Elon’s ecological footprint through campus sustainability”
- Cory Weller ’20 for Sports Photography for “Bryanna Hames’ quest to be more than just a thrower”
- Grace Morris ’20 for Television Feature Reporting for “Goat Yoga” and “Students prepare their pets for Hurricane Florence”
- Anton Delgado ’20 and Stephanie Hays ’18 for Best Use of Multimedia for “Battery Man”
Leblanc’s story is the only one on the list that was not completed for Elon News Network. He conducted his reporting in January 2018 as a Pulitzer Center Student Fellow. His 1,200-word investigation on Belmarsh, London’s highest security prison, delved into its approach to deradicalization, including the use of forced containment. It was published by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
Region 2 comprises North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Delaware.
Last year, Diego Pineda ’19 was named a national SPJ winner for General News Reporting for his story on sexual assault. In 2017, Hays won a national SPJ award for Photo Illustration. In 2016, Leena Dahal ’17 (General Column Writing), Alex Simon ’17 (Sports Writing) and Al Drago ’15 (General News Photography and Sports Photography) won national honors.
National winners will be announced Sept. 6 in San Antonio.