UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Five entries from Penn State students in three different disciplines — broadcast, photography and writing — earned first-place finishes during the recently completed Society of Professional Journalists Region 1 2023 Mark of Excellence Awards.
Penn State’s winners were:
- Best All-Around Television Newscast — “Centre County Report” (Dec. 1, 2023)
- Television In-Depth Reporting — Carlos Garcia, “Estonia’s Past Influences Current Military Stance”
- Television Sports Reporting — Dugan Lloyd, “Fighting for Rudy: A Source of Inspiration”
- Sports Writing (Large) — Joe Lister, “American colleges feed the Women’s World Cup with talent”
- Sports Photography — Rafaela Pontes, “Cup Consolation”
SPJ’s Region 1 comprises Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Central and Eastern Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. First-place winners will compete at the national level among other winners from the 12 SPJ regions.
National winners will be notified in the late spring.
Awards entries are judged by professionals with at least three years of journalism experience. Judges were directed to choose entries they felt were among the best in student journalism.
School divisions are based on student enrollment, including both graduate and undergraduate: Large schools have at least 10,000 students and small schools have 9,999 or fewer students.