Two West Virginia University P.I. Reed School of Journalism students have won 2007 Region 4 Mark of Excellence Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) for their published works.
Kendal Montgomery, a junior from Williamstown, received two first-place awards, one for general news photography for “Anti-war demonstrators visit capital” and another for feature photography for “Beyond our backyard.” She will advance to the national round of the SPJ competition.
Jon Offredo, a sophomore from Newton, Pa., won third place for feature writing for his entry, “Oh baby, we love our Chucks.” He wrote the article during his summer 2007 internship at The Dominion Post. The story recounts the history and cultural relevance of Chuck Taylor Converse shoes.
The awards honor the best in student journalism. This year, collegiate journalists submitted more than 3,400 entries in 39 categories for print, radio, television and online collegiate journalism.
The WVU students received the awards during SPJ’s Region 4 spring conference last week in Pittsburgh. Region 4 includes West Virginia, Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.
“The SPJ competition is an important one for student journalists both at the regional and national level,” said Bonnie E. Stewart, assistant professor and SPJ student adviser. “It’s a great honor, and we at the School of Journalism are proud of Jon and Kendal and their work.”
The conference, featuring “Digital Democracy,” explored how the digital revolution – blogs, online video, Web sites and social media – is changing traditional news media coverage and citizens’ access to the political process.
Former USA Today reporter Toni Locy, WVU Shott Chair of Journalism, was a featured speaker at the conference. Her speech, “Subpoenaed for Her Sources: A Journalist’s Story,” outlined issues of developing sources and the dangers facing reporters.