FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2005

Spectator wins two first places

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- The Mississippi Press Association has bestowed some top honors on MUW’s campus newspaper, The Spectator, and its staff.

In the 2004-2005 Better Newspaper Contest, The Spectator received prizes in eight categories in the four-year colleges and universities division, including two first places.

The Spectator staff was tops in the Best Editorial category, with commentary on the 9/11 commission’s investigation and on the gay marriage ban in Mississippi.

Senior Lacey Williams netted the other first place plaque with her story about MUW's first graduate in music therapy.

“I’m very proud of everyone because we all worked so hard,” said Spectator Editor Brittany Harper. “It’s very nice to be rewarded for our endeavors.”

Dr. Anne Balazs, head of the Division of Business and Communication, said, “The honors awarded to The Spectator staff by the Mississippi Press Association are well deserved. MUW has long [had] an award-winning publication, and I am glad the MPA has acknowledged it once again. It is especially sweet, given the size of our competition, and the fact that The Spectator has a small, but dedicated staff of writers and a new adviser, Gibbons Chair Margaret Mary Henry.”

In other wins, Jillian Danner placed third in the Best General News Story category with a story about thefts on campus and also received an Honorable Mention for her story about a trend of staying in college longer before graduation.

Lifestyles Editor Joshua Hollis placed second and third for Best Cartoon.  Former editor Nikki Ballard received second place in the Best General Interest Column category, and Online Editor Mark
Huerkamp won third place in the Best Retail Advertisement category. The Spectator also nabbed honorable mentions for Best Front Page and General Excellence.

The prizes were awarded in Jackson March 31. The Spectator, now marking its centennial, fared better this year than in last year’s competition, in which the staff received two second place awards and one third place.

 “I’m excited to see how much we’ve improved from last year,” said Harper. She said the staff would continue to improve the paper.

“The prizes are a much-deserved salute to the staff's talent and dedication,” Henry said. “I am thrilled for them.”