Society of Professional Journalists Recognizes Manship School Students as Mark of Excellence Finalists

March 7, 2019

Baton Rouge, LA – LSU Student Media outlets and LSU Manship School News Service journalists have been named finalists in 17 categories for the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence Awards Region 12, including Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper, Best Student Magazine and Best Affiliated Website.

The Mark of Excellence Award identifies the best collegiate journalism projects for the year in SPJ’s Region 12, which is comprised of schools from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Tennessee.

“The Manship School has a long history of producing strong journalism, thanks to our focus on experiential education,” Martin Johnson, dean of LSU’s Manship School, said. “The number of awards our student media outlets are nominated for underscores the excellence of the work that our students are producing.”

The Manship School proudly recognizes the following Reveille, Manship School News Service, TigerTV, Legacy and KLSU journalists who are finalists in the SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards:

The Reveille:

  • Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper: Staff of The Reveille
  • Best Affiliated Web Site: Staff of The Reveille
  • Sports Photography: Whitney Williston
  • General News Reporting: Luke Jeanfreau
  • Sports Writing: Brandon Adam

LSU Manship School News Service:

  • Breaking News Reporting: Paul Braun, Tryfon Boukouvidis and Drew White
  • Feature Writing: Claire Bermudez, Caroline Fenton and Payton Ibos
  • Sports Writing: Dylan Alvarez, Brennen Normand and Jace Mallory
  • In-Depth Reporting: Brittany Lofaso and Kennedi Walker

Tiger TV:

  • Broadcast News Videography: Claes Olsson
  • Online/Digital News Videography: Bon Wells
  • Television Sports Reporting: Dylan Alvarez
  • Television General News Reporting: Madeline Adams
  • Television General News Reporting: Rachel Handley
  • Television Feature Reporting: Britt Lofaso

The Legacy:

  • Best Student Magazine: The Staff of The Legacy

KLSU:

  • Radio News Reporting: Erik Piccoli

“Our student journalists put in long hours pursing stories and creating compelling content for each media outlet, and this recognition shows that our students are extremely competitive regionally,” John Friscia, LSU’s director of student media, said.

Regional winners will be announced at the end of March. Region 12 winners will go on to compete at the national level among the Mark of Excellence winners from other regions. National winners will be announced in September.

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LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication ranks among the top schools of mass communication and journalism in the country, with its robust emphasis on media and public affairs. It offers undergraduate degrees in public relations, journalism, political communication, digital advertising and pre-law; and four graduate degree programs: Ph.D. in media and public affairs, master of mass communication, dual MMC/law degree and a graduate certificate in strategic communication. Its public relations, digital advertising and student media teams frequently earn national recognition, including the national championship in the 2018 national Bateman Case Study Competition of the Public Relations Student Society of America.