By Carley Conrad
College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office
CONWAY — University of Central Arkansas student media outlets, including The Echo, Scroll, News 6 and the Vortex, won a combined 114 awards at the Arkansas College Media Association’s annual ceremony on Friday, April 8.
The Echo newspaper won 56 awards in print and online for topical reporting, newswriting, photography, editorial writing, reviews, layout, meeting/speech coverage, sports, feature and review writing, headlines and breaking news, including second in Newspaper General Excellence and website (ucaecho.net). Maggie McNeary was selected Website Editor of the Year.
“I continue to be proud of the work all of our journalism students do in student media,” lecturer in journalism and Echo adviser David Keith said. “The Echo staff provided breaking, investigative and day-to-day coverage of UCA, and it is nice to see them recognized for their excellent work. When I see what our students produce — across all media — it gives me confidence about the future and the continued vibrancy of journalism.”
Will Oldham, 2015 Scroll editor, won Yearbook Editor of the Year and second for Designer of the Year. The 2015 book won an Honorable Mention in the Yearbook General Excellence Category. The Scroll staff, which includes students with majors ranging from math to interior design, won individual awards in 21 categories.
“I was pleased with the overall results this year,” associate professor of journalism and Scroll adviser Dr. Polly Walter said. “I guess you could say the Scroll was a triple threat in the General Excellence category.”
Vortex won 16 awards, including second in Magazine General Excellence. Emily Qualls was selected Magazine Editor of the Year. The staff swept all three awards in the fiction, art and scriptwriting categories and won two each in poetry and nonfiction.
“These are statewide awards,” associate professor of creative writing Garry Craig Powell said. “The fact that we consistently win nearly all of them demonstrates not only the health and vigor of our creative writing program but also the professionalism, the passion and the sheer energy of our Vortex magazine staff members.”
News 6 was awarded first and third place in the Television General Excellence Award competition. Adviser Jerry Overton said the award was based on overall excellence in creating and broadcasting half-hour newscasts and long-form sports programming with special attention given to writing, videography, local reporting, anchor talent and technical production.
The News 6 team included Tyler Navas, Shelby Styron, Michael Deere, Kelsey Williams, Elizabeth Sandoval, Aleecia Tyous and Jacob Watson.
For additional information, contact Keith at (501) 852-2912 or dkeith@uca.edu
The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Department of Art, Communication, Mass Communication and Theatre, Music and Writing. The college’s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call (501) 450-3293.
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