UIS student newspaper staff win awards

Staff of the University of Illinois Springfield’s weekly student newspaper, The Journal, and its semester news-features magazine, Beyond, won seven awards in the 2011 Illinois College Press Association (ICPA) competition.

Winners were announced Saturday, February 18 during an awards luncheon at the 29th annual ICPA convention in Chicago. The Journal and Beyond both won awards in the weekly student publication division comprised of more than 10 schools with enrollments of 4,000 or more. Those schools included UIS, Benedictine, Bradley, Columbia College, DePaul, Lewis University, Loyola, Northeastern Illinois University, Robert Morris College, Roosevelt University, SIU-Edwardsville, and St. Xavier.

“I am really proud of The Journal staff, past and present for the excellence they have brought to our student newspaper. These awards are proof of the hard work and dedication that go into making The Journal the best it can possibly be,” said Kati Maseman, Journal editor-in-chief. “I look forward to submitting quality articles and photos to ICPA next year, and I hope that we can bring home even more awards in the future."

Debra Chandler Landis, UIS student publications adviser, added, “It is indeed an honor to be singled out for awards in a statewide competition of incredibly talented student journalists. I am very proud of The Journal and Beyond staff.”

The awards:

• First Place Sports and Feature Photos: Ryan Voyles of Springfield, Ill., who photographed fans’ reactions and the ensuing celebration for the fall 2011 edition of Beyond following the St. Louis Cardinals World Series win in October. 2011.
• Third Place Sports Column: Ryan Voyles of Springfield, Ill., who described in Beyond what it was like to be at the game in St. Louis last October when the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series.
• Third Place, Column: Andrew Majors of Terra Haute, Ind., for a Beyond column about adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
• Honorable Mention, Front Page Layout: Kate Richardson of Taylorville, Ill., and Yu Sun of Dalian, Liaoning, China. The Journal submitted three consecutively dated front pages in this category, in which judges considered such factors as overall design, story placement, use of photos and graphics,
• Honorable Mention, Feature Story: Kati Maseman of Auburn, Ill., for a Beyond story in which she interviewed three women at UIS—two professors and the UIS athletics director—about their careers and breaking through the glass ceiling of career advancement.
• Honorable Mention, News Photo: Colten Bradford of Vermont, Ill., for a Journal photo of students constructing “Box City” during a campus Springfest event aimed at increasing awareness about homelessness.