Herald Editors Win Awards at Southeast Journalism Conference
Herald staffers attending the Southeast Journalism Conference were (from left) Anna Cox, sports editor; Jerry Don Burton, news editor; Elijah Templeton, opinion editor; Caroline Averitt, life editor; and Rachel Rudd, editor-in-chief. Templeton won first place for best opinion writing, Rebecca Robinson (former editor-in-chief, not pictured) won second place for best page designer, and Rudd won third place for best news writer and fifth place for best photographer.
TROY, Ala. – Editors of Arkansas State University’s student-run newspaper, The Herald, won six awards in Best of the South and on-site competitions at the Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC) at Troy University.
This is the second consecutive year The Herald has won awards at SEJC.
“I’m very proud of my staff for coming to this conference and doing so well,” said Herald editor-in-chief Rachel Rudd of Beebe, a junior creative media production major. “To see us go up against much bigger schools and staff and do so great was such a rewarding experience.”
The winners in the Best of the South categories were:
— First Place Best Opinion Writer: Elijah Templeton
— Second Place Best Page Designer: Rebecca Robinson, former Herald editor-in-chief
— Third Place Best News Writer: Rachel Rudd
— Fifth Place Best Photographer: Rachel Rudd
The winners in on-site competitions were:
— First Place Opinion Writing: Elijah Templeton
— Second Place Page Design: Anna Cox
“Being recognized for your work is an extremely gratifying feeling,” said Templeton, a junior creative media production major from Jonesboro and The Herald opinion editor. “It was a great experience and I am excited to go again next year.”
SEJC is a yearly conference where schools from across the southeast compete in Best of the South categories and on-site competitions. Students also attend seminars to learn more about journalism and hear from working professionals.
SEJC has more than 35 member colleges and universities from states including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
“My biggest takeaway from SEJC was learning how to report on a deadline. For the on-site competition, I had to turn around a story in about two hours, which is an insanely short amount of time for someone who doesn’t have a lot of experience with deadline reporting,” said news editor Jerry Don Burton of Wynne, a sophomore multimedia journalism major.
Anna Cox of Paragould, sports editor and a junior English major, said the SEJC speakers helped her learn more about sports journalism.
“They provided so much valuable feedback such as how to make better connections with coaches, players, sports information directors and how those connections will help me when I need to cover something quickly,” Cox said.
The conference featured keynote speakers Tom Foreman, an award-winning CNN broadcast journalist, and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Ashley Remkus, investigative editor for AL.com.
“You're here because you want to have a front row to history and to what happens in our world. It's glorious. It is the most interesting thing in the world,” Foreman said.
Burton and Herald life editor Caroline Averitt of Jonesboro, a senior multimedia journalism major, met with Foreman after his presentation. Averitt said Foreman encouraged them to continue writing and wished them luck in their careers.
In addition to being a keynote speaker, Remkus led a seminar on her investigative journalism and how students could get involved.
“I've been fortunate to work on other investigative projects. But the one thing that I would say is that people I've met while working here said they got their lives back,” Remkus said. “That was the most impactful part. It was people saying that they got their lives back, that somebody believed.”
The next SEJC will be held in January at Mississippi State University in Starkville.
Elijah Templeton and Anna Cox pose with their on-site competition awards at the Southeast Journalism Conference. Templeton placed first in on-site opinion writing, and Cox placed second in on-site page design.
