DIGEST earns five awards at SEJC

BATON ROUGE, LA. – The Southern DIGEST, the student newspaper of the Southern University-Baton Rouge campus recently won five awards, including first-place for Best News Graphic Designer and second-place for Best Web Page Designer, at the 2002 “Best of the South” Contest conducted by the Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC).
The DIGEST also placed tenth overall for Best College Newspaper.
Janene Tate, a junior mass communications major from Franklinton, was tied for fourth place for Best Feature Writer and Gabrielle A. Maple, a junior mass communications major from Baton Rouge finished tied for fifth for Best News Reporter. Maple is the current editor in chief.
Ryan Knight, the junior engineering major from Baton Rouge, who serves as the Digest’s graphics and photo editor, won the award for Best News Graphic while Antenika Preddie, a junior mass communication major from St. Thomas, Jamaica, serves as the Digest’s web page manager, placed second for Best Web Page Designer. (www.southerndigest.com).
“This is a great contest to see where the students stand against bigger schools in the region with staffs and budgets that triple our publication.” said Derick Hackett, director of student media at Southern. “Our students have taken great pride in their journalism work and their quest to become professionals in this field.”
The SEJC annual conference was held in Pensacola, Fla., at the University of West Florida. SEJC was formed for the advancement of journalism in the Southeast through annual convention and competition. Any university or four-year college located in the southeast that offers courses in journalism or mass communications can join SEJC. Membership includes schools from Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.
Below are the rankings for each of the categories that the DIGEST placed in.
BEST NEWS GRAPHIC DESIGNER
No. 1 Ryan P. Knight, Southern U.
No. 2 Willard Avery, Grambling
No. 3 Christie Myers, Vanderbilt.
BEST WEB PAGE DESIGNER
No. 1 Stephen Yeargin, Tennessee-Martin
No. 2 Antenika Preddie, Southern U.
No. 3 Brian McCollister, Mississippi College
No. 4 David Barzelay, Vanderbilt
BEST FEATURE WRITER
No. 1 Chuck Cannon, Louisiana Tech
No. 2 Megan Gregory, Austin Peay
No. 3 Rebecca Walker, Southern Miss
No. 4 (tie) Janene Tate, Southern U.
No. 4 (tie) Carmen Ann Reynolds, W. Florida
No. 6 (tie) Lendsay Evans, Auburn
No. 6 (tie) Erin Gaford, Union
No. 8 Maureen Simpson, Samford
No. 9 (tie) Jocelyn Jackson, Jackson State
No. 9 (tie) Steven Godfrey, Ole Miss
BEST NEWS REPORTER
No. 1 Andrew Ackerman, Emory
No. 2 Kayla Gagnet, LSU
No. 3 (tie) Palmer Houchins, Ole Miss
No. 3 (tie) Jason Mayo, Southeastern La.
No. 5 (tie) Laura Houston, Ole Miss
No. 5 (tie) Adam Terry, Louisiana Tech
No. 5 (tie) Gabrielle Maple, Southern U.
No. 8 (tie) Esther DeWald, Louisiana-Monroe
No. 8 (tie) Robbie Ward, Southern Miss
No.10 Evan Mayor, Vanderbilt
BEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER
No. 1 The Reveille, LSU
No. 2 The Emory Wheel, Emory
No. 3 The Auburn Plainsman, Auburn
No. 4 The Gramblinite, Grambling
No. 5 (tie) The Reflector, Mississippi State
No. 5 (tie) The Vanderbilt Hustler, Vanderbilt
No. 7 Tulane Hullabaloo, Tulane
No. 8 (tie) The Daily Mississippian, Ole Miss
No. 8 (tie) The Student Printz, Southern Miss.
No.10 The Southern Digest, Southern U.