FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19,
2007
Contact:
Amber Parker
(662)
329-7119
Spectator
garners awards at journalism conference
COLUMBUS, Miss. – Mississippi University for Women
student Laura Tubb took top honors for news
reporting at the recent Southeastern Journalism
Conference (SEJC) in Birmingham, Ala.
Tubb, who is from Macon, won first place in the Best
News Reporter category for her stories about the
administration/alumni relations and two facilities
management employees who were injured while
conducting electrical work in Painter Hall.
Dr. Marty Hatton, chair of the Department of
Communications, said, “This is a tremendous honor
and a sign that our students are doing great things.
I’m really proud of The Spectator. It indicates that
our students are living up to high standards.”
Tubb, who currently serves as editor of The
Spectator, the campus newspaper, said, “This is a
huge accomplishment…. Journalism is an ever-changing
adrenaline rush. It takes a lot of time, but it’s
something that makes a lasting impact on people.
Nothing makes me happier than knowing someone is
reading the paper. I believe in what we do here.”
Other students who placed in the contest were Casey
Parkman, who placed eighth in the Arts and
Entertainment Writing category, and Rita Johnson who
placed ninth in the Arts and Entertainment Writing
category.
Spectator adviser Margaret Mary Henry, who holds the
Harriet Stark Gibbons Distinguished Chair in
Journalism, said, "Laura
and Rita and Casey have put in long hours and
repeatedly gone the extra mile to do their job well.
Their diligence and their commitment to journalism's
ideals of accuracy, fairness and clarity have paid
off in these awards. It's a pleasure to mentor
students who are so dedicated."
The SEJC, which began as an idea from a University
of Alabama professor, has two primary goals: to
foster a stronger interest in journalism and to
build relations among journalism schools in the
southeastern region.
