UA Student Newspaper Receives Top Honors at Journalism Conference

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama’s Crimson White staff took overall top honors in on-site competitions held at Emory University in Atlanta during the recent annual Southeastern Journalism Conference.

The Crimson White was named the second-best college newspaper of the year, and the newspaper gained recognition in several of the conference’s “Best in South” competitions.

The Crimson White saw three of its staff members earn first place in three individual competitions. Lori Creel, senior staff reporter, placed first in feature writing; Will Nevin, opinions editor, took first place honors in the personal column category; and Nick Beadle, managing editor for news, was first in the media law competition.

“I am so happy with our showing at SEJC, it speaks volumes about how far we have come as journalists,” said Tiff Schwarz, managing editor for design. “Our staff is consistently impressive to us, but for them to be awarded by professionals in the field is very validating.”

The Crimson White’s entertainment editor Ben Flanagan, graphics editor Joey Dodson and deputy photo editor T.G. Paschal added to the list of honors with first place in three additional categories: arts and entertainment writing, information graphics and photography, respectively.

Additional Crimson White staff members receiving placements in various categories were Chris Otts, Schwarz, Lindsay Maples, Marlin Caddell, Kathleen Buccleugh, Amy Owens, Mike Faulk and former sports editor, Buddy Hughes.

“The CW sent only a few staff members to SEJC and still managed to win the overall on-site competition, with three first place finishes. That is impressive, but not surprising given the quality and dedication of our staff this year,” editor Otts said. “And our designation by the SEJC judges as second best paper shows that The CW is a leader — a model — among college newspapers in the Southeast.”