The Society of Professional Journalists of Indiana announced April 27 in Indianapolis that Indiana Wesleyan University’s student newspaper, The Sojourn, won five awards in the group’s annual competition, which pits all the state’s colleges and universities against each other, regardless of size. This year marks the first time the newspaper has won an honor from SPJ Indiana. Winners are:
Second place: Informational graphic, Steven Porter; spot news, Rachel Pyle
Third place: Sports reporting, Jeremy Sharp; spot news, Lauren Sawye
Honorable mention: Non-deadline news, Molly Meyer
These honors follow The Sojourn’s first-ever first place finish at this year’s Hoosier State Press Association awards in Indianapolis (with Indiana colleges and universities competing together without regard to enrollment), in which Porter won for best opinion piece.
“The Sojourn is developing a statewide as well as national reputation for excellence,” said Dr. Kyle Huckins, The Sojourn’s faculty adviser and IWU’s journalism coordinator, referring to the newspaper’s placement in the top 10 in its category in the National College Media Convention “Best of Show” awards last year. “Indiana Wesleyan University’s student journalists have shown they can compete with the biggest schools in Indiana and the U.S. They’re an important witness for the Lord in a secularly dominated field.”
Indiana Wesleyan University’s student newspaper, The Sojourn, also took home an all-level statewide award as well as several Division II statewide honors for excellence at a ceremony held Saturday, April 14, by the Indiana Collegiate Press Association in Muncie.
April 14’s awards and winners:
All-level
Third place: Use of Twitter, staff
Division II (3,000+ undergraduate enrollment, not published 3x or more weekly)
First place: Opinion column, Steven Porter and Molly Meyer
Second place: Breaking news reporting, Molly Meyer and Steven Porter; entertainment column, Lauren Sawyer; feature page, Rachel Pyle, Molly Meyer and Hannah Towler
Third place: Sports news story, Rachel Pyle; sports photo, Josh Gales; themed issue, staff
Huckins expressed excitement at news of the awards. “These honors come in all facets of the physical newspaper – writing, photography and design – as well as acknowledge the growing emphasis we’ve given to online operations,” he said.
This year’s seven all-level statewide awards are a record for The Sojourn, founded as the Marion College Journal back in the 1920s.
