Herald and Staff Members Earn Awards at Journalism Conference

JONESBORO —  The Herald, the newspaper produced by students in the School of Media and Journalism at Arkansas State University, and several of its staff members earned four Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC) Best of the South 2020 awards during a virtual ceremony last month.

The Herald finished fifth overall out of 30 publications for the SEJC best college newspaper. Herald editor-in-chief Krishnan Collins of Sherwood tied for third place in a group of 24 entries in the best sports writer category. Ranked fourth, opinion editor Lily Cabibi-Wilkin of Hot Springs competed against 26 entries in the best opinion/editorial writer category. Tristan Bennett of Carlisle, news editor, finished 12th in a field of 33 entries in the best news writer category.

“I am very proud of all the hard work The Herald staff has done since last spring semester,” said Collins who submitted A-State’s entries into the SEJC competition. “We have worked hard to change the culture at The Herald and really improve the paper in all aspects from content to design to distribution and the list could go on.”

Forty-five judges examined 369 entries in 30 competition categories from more than 30 institutions participating in the competition.

“Readers can see the improvement in every edition of The Herald and not only has The Herald staff had to work through editor changes, higher expectations and budget cuts, but also through the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite all these challenges, the staff has worked hard and put The Herald on the right track to be better for years to come. Congratulations to all of our hardworking staff who have made The Herald one of the best collegiate newspapers in the South."

The SEJC was founded by a professor at the University of Alabama in 1985, David Sloan, who wished to encourage greater interest in student journalism and to create closer ties among journalism schools in the southeast United States. SEJC is composed of more than 35 member colleges and universities in states across the southeast, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

New issues of The Herald are published weekly on Wednesdays and online at TheHerald.home.blog during the fall and spring semesters.