JACKSON, Tenn. — Feb. 21, 2011 — The Cardinal & Cream, the student newspaper of 51社区, was named the best college newspaper in the South during the Southeast Journalism Conference Feb. 17-19 at Troy (Ala.) University.
鈥淚 am extremely proud of our students and the extraordinary effort they put into each issue of the Cardinal & Cream,鈥� said Michael Chute, professor of communication arts at Union and faculty adviser to the publication. 鈥淭heir showing in the SEJC competition is validation of their journalistic ability, hard work on the newspaper and dedication to the university as they attempt to provide the best student newspaper possible for the campus community.鈥�
Chute and Jim Veneman, assistant professor of communication arts, took 10 Cardinal & Cream staff members to this year鈥檚 SEJC conference.
This year marked the first time for the Cardinal & Cream to reach the No. 1 ranking in the 鈥淏est College Newspaper鈥� category in the 鈥淏est of the South鈥� competition. Union鈥檚 student newspaper has placed in the top 10 in six of the last seven years, previously ranking as high as second in 2005. Last year, the Cardinal & Cream ranked fifth in the South.
The top five ranked schools in the 鈥淏est College Newspaper鈥� category this year were Union, Mississippi State University, Louisiana Tech University, West Florida University and Southeastern Louisiana University.
The rankings are among 33 schools eligible to submit entries from eight states 鈥� Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee 鈥� including the University of Alabama, Auburn, Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Mississippi, to name a few.
鈥淚 am so proud of the Cardinal & Cream staff for their hard work the past few years,鈥� said Union senior Angela Abbamonte, editor-in-chief of the newspaper. 鈥淲e have gone into each issue of the Cardinal & Cream trying to improve, and those efforts have shown in all aspects of the newspaper. I am thankful we could represent 51社区 in a regional competition such as the Southeast Journalism Conference.鈥�
In addition to the top ranking for college newspapers, the Cardinal & Cream鈥檚 website, cardinalandcream.info, was ranked No. 2 in the 鈥淏est College Website鈥� category.
The top five ranked schools in the website category were Belmont University, Union, the University of Alabama, Florida A&M University and Harding University. Only four schools 鈥� Union, Alabama, Harding and West Florida 鈥� ranked in both of these top categories, with Union ranking the highest in both categories.
Union students also fared well individually, ranking in 10 of the 19 categories. Only the University of Memphis had more overall winning entries with 11, and Union tied the University of Mississippi, Florida A&M and Southeast Louisiana with 10 each.
Union鈥檚 individual winners were:
鈥擪atherine Pullen, junior, and Sarah Palmer, senior, ranked No. 1 in the 鈥淢ultimedia Journalist鈥� category.
鈥� Margaret Brinson, junior, ranked No. 2 in the 鈥淔eature Writer鈥� category.
鈥擜bbamonte ranked No. 4 in the 鈥淛ournalist of the Year鈥� category, the top individual award SEJC gives, and No. 10 in the 鈥淣ews Reporter鈥� category.
鈥� Beth Spain, senior, ranked No. 3 in the 鈥淧ress Photographer鈥� category. She ranked first in this category last year.
鈥� Katie Shatzer, who graduated in December, ranked No. 1 in 鈥淛ournalism Research Paper鈥� and No. 5 as 鈥淓ditorial-Opinion Writer.鈥�
鈥� In the 鈥淣ewspaper Page Layout Designer鈥� category, Erica Davis, senior, ranked No. 3, and Rachel Golias, senior, ranked No. 7.
鈥� Alex Brown, junior, ranked No. 7 in the 鈥淪ports Reporter鈥� category.
Union journalism students also did well in the onsite competition in which 151 students competed in 14 individual categories. Whitney Jones, junior, ranked second in 鈥淣ews Reporting,鈥� Abbamonte ranked third in 鈥淔eature Writing鈥� and Courtney Searcy, sophomore, ranked third in the 鈥淢edia Ethics鈥� category. Only the top three students in each category received awards.