By Taelor Pickett
College of Fine Arts and Communication Media Office
CONWAY — University of Central Arkansas student media outlets won five general excellence awards at the recent Arkansas College Media Association (ACMA) conference.
UCA student journalists and editors swept awards for Magazine Editor of the Year, Newspaper Editor of the Year, Television Anchor of the Year, Magazine of the Year and Television Outlet of the Year.
“The purpose of ACMA is to give college students working in media in Arkansas the opportunity to network with each other, to learn from each other and also to see how they stack up with other college journalists who work in the state,” said David Keith, adviser of the UCA student newspaper, The Echo. “The competition gives them the chance to showcase their work at a professional level. The people who judge these contests are from out of state and are either working journalists or other college media advisers. It’s a very balanced judging that you would expect to see at a professional media contest at any level.”
UCA general excellence winners included:
- Newspaper Editor of the Year
First Place: Maggie McNeary (Charleston, Mo.) The Echo - Magazine Editor of the Year
First Place: Taylor Brady, Editor-in-Chief; Vortex - Magazine of the Year
First Place: Vortex, Staff, Vortex 42. - Television Anchor of the Year
First Place: Ashley Godwin (Little Rock) News6 - Television Outlet of the Year
First Place: News6, Chandler Watkins (Little Rock,) Mitchell Morgan (Little Rock)
Individual awards went to:
MAGAZINE
Art/Illustration
First Place: Allison Armstrong, Vortex, Building Character.
Second Place: Leah Roddey, Vortex.
Honorable Mention: Melissa Foster, Vortex, Rain on the Road.
Contents Page Design
First Place: Staff, Vortex, Table of Contents.
Cover Design
First Place: Melissa Foster, Vortex, Vortex 42.
Fiction Writing
First Place: Audrey Bauman (Little Rock) Vortex, River Dragon.
Second Place: Dylan Easton (Conway) Vortex, 8 Things to Never Say to Your Roommate.
Third Place: Cassandra Vennerbeck, Vortex, The Global Operating Device.
Nonfiction Writing
First Place: Campbell Shelton, Vortex, Jacob, My Brother.
Second Place: Tyler Hauth (Cabot) Vortex, Fang.
Poetry
First Place: Elizabeth Gambertoglio (Houston, Texas) Vortex, Fenrir after Ragnarok.
Second Place: Taylor Brady, Vortex, All That’s Inadequate, Letter to a Leaving Man.
Third Place: Jessica Boyle, Vortex, Tulsa, a Slut.
Scriptwriting
First Place: Hayden Pickens (North Little Rock) Vortex, The Rains.
NEWSPAPER
Advertising
First Place: Morgan Embry (Cabot), The Echo, Post Secret.
Election/Political
Third Place: Des’ree Dallmann (Little Rock), The Echo, Private option outcome may increase education costs.
Feature Photo
Second Place: Monica Sanders, The Echo, Homecoming Queen Lauren Morris.
General Column
First Place: Kayla McCullough (Berryville), The Echo, Arguments online not well-articulated or researched.
Third Place: Julia Kramer (Conway), The Echo, Vaccinating children prevents disease, is not linked to autism.
Honorable Mention: Des’ree Dallmann (Little Rock), The Echo, Climate change important when picking candidate.
Meeting/Speech
First Place: Morgan Embry (Cabot), Taylor Fulgham (Ash Flat), John Anderson (Hot Springs), The Echo, Board names Houston Davis UCA’s 11th president.
Second Place: Brent Wilson (Quitman) The Echo, SGA discusses blackface.
Review Writing
Second Place: Sophia Ordaz, The Echo, Chicago artist bears soul on mixtape with a unique twist.
Third Place: Victoria LaFave, The Echo, “Snowden’”opens political debate.
Sports Page Layout
First Place: Taran Meyer (Salt Lake City, Utah), The Echo, Sports, March 16.
Sports Photo
Second Place: Lauren Swaim (Little Rock), The Echo, Women’s basketball.
Third Place: Shiori Soya (Japan), The Echo, Bears Baseball.
Sports Story
First Place: Denn-Warren Tafah (Dallas), The Echo, Bears win playoff game, head to second round.
Second Place: Amanda Nettles (Little Rock), The Echo, Bears beat Arkansas State, look to continue streak.
ONLINE
Articles-Arts & Entertainment
First Place: Lauren Swaim (Little Rock), The Echo, Shakespeare’s First Folio Displayed in Baum Gallery.
Third Place: Lauren Swaim (Little Rock), The Echo, Courtway announces hanging bear sculpture.
Honorable Mention: Kirby Smith (Conway), The Echo, The Uh Huhs Win Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase.
Feature Writing
First Place: Michael Benzmiller, The Echo, Sustainable Living Roots Planted Behind Faulkner County Library.
Meeting/Speech Coverage
First Place: Darian Whitmore, The Echo, Courtway Announces New Coding Academy.
Second Place: Hunter Moore, The Echo, Faculty Hosts Teach-in Event to Discuss Upcoming Election.
Newswriting
First Place: Maggie McNeary (Charleston, Mo.), Amanda Nettles, John Anderson, The Echo, Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity Suspended By National Chapter.
Third Place: Maggie McNeary (Charleston, Mo.), The Echo, Sen. Rapert, Ministries Supported Student Arrested in Rape, Assault.
Honorable Mention: Denn-Warren Tafah (Dallas), The Echo, Fraternity reports alleged slurs by Sigma Tau Gamma.
Reviews/Arts & Entertainment
Third Place: Maggie McNeary (Charleston, Mo.) The Echo, Panic! At the Disco’s ‘Death of a Bachelor’ is Smooth, Lacks Substance.
Honorable Mention: Taylor Fulgham (Ash Flat) The Echo, 5 Funny Twitter Accounts To Follow Immediately.
Sports Writing
First Place: Joe Kramer (Conway) The Echo, Baseball tops series against Lumberjacks.
Second Place: Denn-Warren Tafah (Dallas) The Echo, Bears End Regular Season Undefeated in Conference.
YEARBOOK
Academics Layout
Third Place: Sarah Hocott (Fort Smith), UCA Scroll, Around the World in 30 Days.
Academics Photo
Third Place: Bethany Thweatt (Palestine), UCA Scroll, Sitting in the Street.
Academics Writing
Honorable Mention: Audrey Bauman (Little Rock), UCA Scroll, Chinese Immersion.
Art/Illustration
First Place: Scroll Staff, UCA Scroll, Opening Page.
Second Place: Scroll Staff, UCA Scroll, International Spread.
Closing
Third Place: Bethany Thweatt (Palestine), UCA Scroll, Yearbook Closing – Scroll Staff.
Divider
Second Place: Scroll Staff, UCA Scroll, Yearbook Divider – Campus Life.
Endsheets
First Place: Bethany Thweatt (Palestine), UCA Scroll, Yearbook Endsheets.
Feature Photo
Second Place: Vijay Reddy (International Student), UCA Scroll, Large Donor.
Introduction Theme Page/Opening
Second Place: UCA Scroll, Yearbook Introduction Theme Page/Opening
Portrait Layout
Third Place: Bethany Thweatt (Palestine), UCA Scroll, Yearbook Portrait Layout – Freshmen.
Sports Layout
Third Place: Sarah Hocott (Fort Smith), UCA Scroll, Cheer.
Sports Photo
Third Place: Heather Hyson, UCA Scroll, Baseball Background Photo.
Sports Writing
Third Place: Mariam Dosso (International Student), UCA Scroll, Talented Beginnings.
Honorable Mention: Davijon Watson (Conway), UCA Scroll, Bears Battle Injuries.
Student Life Photo
Mention: Isabella Barnello, UCA Scroll, Volleyball.
Student Life Writing
First Place: Yennifer Lopez (Conway), UCA Scroll, Yearbook Student Life Writing – Hallowed Homecoming.
Typographic Presentation
First Place: Scroll Staff, UCA Scroll, Letters from the Editors/Table of Contents.
Second Place: Scroll Staff, UCA Scroll, Men’s Soccer.
Writing-Organization/Greek
First Place: Jaylin Ware (Conway), UCA Scroll, Yearbook Writing-Organization/Greek – Pie a Sigma Tri philanthropy event.
Second Place: Sarah Hocott (Fort Smith), UCA Scroll, SOS.
The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Music, and Film, Theatre and Creative Writing, as well as the School of Communication. 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.
