Middle Tennessee State University journalism students received a variety of awards at the 30th annual Southeastern Journalism Conference at Austin Peay State University over the weekend. Along with the 11 individual awards earned by MTSU students, Sidelines placed 4th for best student newspaper and 1st place for best college website.
College students from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee are entered annually in the Best of the South awards to be recognized for work published in the last year (November, 2014-November 2015) in 30 different broadcast, radio, photography, multimedia, print and online categories.
2015 MTSU Best of the South Finalists:
- Meagan White (former Editor-in-Chief, Sidelines): Best Opinion-Editorial Writer-1st place
- John Connor Coulston (Managing Editor, Sidelines): Best Arts and Entertainment Writer-1st place
- Erin Thomas (Reporter, WMOT): Best Radio News Feature Reporter-1st place
- Sarah Grace Taylor (Managing Editor, Sidelines): Best News Writer-2nd place
- Sarah Grace Taylor (Managing Editor, Sidelines): Best Multimedia Journalist-3rd place
- Gregory French (Staff Photographer, Sidelines): Best Press Photographer-6th place
- Sarah Grace Taylor (Managing Editor, Sidelines): College Journalist of the Year: 10th place
Additionally, journalists compete in similarly categorized, head-to-head contests at the conference.
2016 MTSU Southeastern Journalism Conference On-Site Winners:
- Sarah Grace Taylor (Managing Editor, Sidelines): Multimedia-1st place
- Dylan Skye Aycock (Editor-in-Chief, Sidelines): Feature Writing-2nd place
- Amanda Freuler (News Editor, Sidelines) and Brinley Hineman (Assistant Lifestyles Editor, Sidelines): Media Ethics- 3rd place
- Meagan White (former Editor-in-Chief, Sidelines): News Photography-Honorable mention
“I couldn’t be happier about the awards brought home by our student journalists,” said Leon Alligood, faculty adviser to Sidelines. “It’s very rewarding to see their hard work recognized.”
At Sidelines, we are proud of the work our staff puts in to make these awards possible, and we will be build on our current success to provide better coverage of issues relevant to our campus.
To see what we do, visit our website or pick up the newest edition of Sidelines, available in main campus buildings.
To get involved in Sidelines, contact editor@mtsusidelines.com or come to a staff meeting Friday at 2p.m. in the Center for Innovation in Media.
