The student-run news organization was recognized widely in the Society of Professional Journalists Region 2 Mark of Excellence Awards, earning first place in nine categories.
Several students at Elon News Network were named winners and finalists across multiple categories of the Society of Professional Journalists Region 2 Mark of Excellence Awards competition. The organization also took home the top organizational honors for the best newspaper and the best television newscast.
SPJ’s Region 2 comprises Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia. First-place winners will compete at the national level among other MOE winners from the 12 SPJ regions. National winners will be recognized at the Society of Professional Journalists national convention in Las Vegas, Sept. 28-30.
Elon News Network earned nine first-place awards:
- Best All-Around Student Newspaper | The Pendulum | Issues from Feb. 16, April 6 and April 27, 2022
- Best All-Around Television Newscast | Elon Local News | March 28, 2022
- Breaking News Reporting | Sophie Rosenthal ’24 | Ian’s interruption: Elon students, families work around storm
- Feature Writing | Kyra O’Connor ’23 | Gibsonville’s first female-owned tattoo studio leaves its mark
- Sports Writing | Jacob Kisamore ’24 | Elon baseball player deals with diabetes on, off the diamond
- Breaking News Photography | Luke Johnson ’23 | Weaver fertilizer plant fire
- General News Photography | Clare Grant ’23 | ABSS celebrates first day of new school year
- Feature Videography | Erin Martin ’25 | Buddhist monk completes green tara sand mandala
- Television Feature Reporting | Margaret Faust ’23 | Graham, NC community remembers 9/11
In addition, several students were named finalists:
- Television Sports Reporting | Erin Martin ’25 | Day in the life of a college golfer
- Best Use of Multimedia | Staff | Elon University move-in
- Feature Photography | Cooper Lyon ’26 | Otis the duck
- General News Reporting | Naomi Washington ’24 | Upcoming tuition increase pushes local Elon University students to look into commuting
“Our staff at Elon News Network is comprised of some of the most talented and hardworking individuals, all of whom I am so proud to work with each day,” said Kyra O’Connor ’23, executive director of ENN and a winner in the feature writing category. “While we don’t do work to win awards, doing award-winning work shows off our staff’s commitment to news and the greater Elon community. I am so glad that so much of our work was recognized by SPJ.”
The student-run news organization is advised by Senior Lecturer Kelly Furnas and Associate Professor Rich Landesberg.