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Posts Tagged ‘Daily Mississippian’

University of Mississippi students win awards at multiple journalism conferences

Posted on: March 6th, 2023 by msross
A man and two girls stand with certificates in their hands at an award event

Director Larz Roberts with DM news editor Mary Boyte and DM arts & culture editor Kharley Redmon.

Congratulations to students in the S. Gale Denley Student Media Center for winning multiple awards in February at the 2023 Southeast Journalism Conference and the 2023 Intercollegiate Broadcasters Conference. 

Director Larz Roberts, along with The Daily Mississippian editors Mary Boyte and Kharley Redmon, first traveled to Thibodaux, Louisiana to attend the SEJC conference and accept awards on behalf of The Daily Mississippian, NewsWatch Ole Miss and Rebel Radio 92.1 staff. 

“I’m always excited to travel with students, especially when it’s for them collecting the awards they’ve earned,” said Roberts. “And with this being my first year as SMC director, I get a big kick out of seeing them get that recognition. In fact, this is just the beginning. With the talent collected in the SMC, I expect we’re going to bring in more.”

The Daily Mississippian ranked 4th in the best newspaper category, NewsWatch Ole Miss ranked 5th in the best TV station category and Rebel Radio ranked 5th in the best radio station category. 38 colleges and universities are members of SEJC. 

  • Erin Foley, a journalism major and design editor for the DM, ranked number 2 in the Best Newspaper Designer category. 
  • Hal Fox, an international studies major and news editor for the DM, ranked number 2 in the Best News Writer category. 
  • Emma Green, journalism major and writer for the DM, ranked number 2 in the Best Feature Writer category. 
  • Kharley Redmon, a journalism major and arts & culture editor for the DM, ranked number 4 in the Best Arts and Entertainment Writer category. 
  • Clay Hale, integrated marketing communication major and writer for the DM, ranked number 5 in the Best Arts and Entertainment Writer category. 
  • David Ramsey, integrated marketing communication major and writer for the DM, ranked number 5 in the Best Opinion/Editorial Writer category. 
  • HG Biggs, a Chinese major and photo editor for the DM, ranked number 7 in the Best Press Photographer category. 
  • Fletcher Canup, international studies major and photographer for the DM, ranked number 9 in the Best Press Photographer category. 
  • Aidan Gallardo, a journalism major and sports editor for the DM, ranked number 9 in the Best Sports Writer category. 
  • Justice Rose, a journalism major and DM opinion editor, ranked number 9 in the Best Opinion/Editorial Writer category. 
  • Violet Jira, journalism and philosophy double major and news editor for the DM, ranked number 10 in the Best News Writer category.
Two girls stand in front of a curtain with trophies in their hands

Graduate student AC Barker and senior Sarah Gail Myers accepted two awards on behalf of NewsWatch Ole Miss and Rebel Radio.

The Intercollegiate Broadcasting System hosted its IBSNYC 2023 Conference on February 24-25 in New York City. Graduate student Anna Caroline Barker and senior journalism major Sarah Gail Myers traveled with Roberts to attend the conference. While there, they were able to attend sessions, where they heard from broadcast professionals. 

NewsWatch Ole Miss was a finalist for Best Newscast and Rebel Radio 92.1 was also a finalist for Best Newscast. Becoming a finalist meant the stations were in the top 5% of their categories. The team returned to campus with two golden microphones. 

The Student Media Center in Bishop Hall is home to multiple publications including The Daily Mississippian, NewsWatch Ole Miss, Rebel Radio 92.1 and The Ole Miss yearbook

The Daily Mississippian wins Newspaper Pacemaker Award, one of college media’s highest honors

Posted on: October 31st, 2020 by ldrucker

The 2019-20 Daily Mississippian, a newspaper produced by the University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media, has been awarded one of college media’s highest honors: a Newspaper Pacemaker Award.

Each year, the Associated Collegiate Press presents Pacemaker awards to the best in collegiate journalism. Entries are judged by teams of professionals based upon coverage and content, quality of writing and reporting, leadership, design, photography and graphics.

Daniel Payne was editor-in-chief in 2019-20, and Eliza Noe was managing editor.

The awards ceremony was held during the annual Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Association annual conference (virtual this year).

Daily Mississippian

Daily Mississippian

The 2019-20 Daily Mississippian also recently won an Honorable Mention for Best Daily Newspaper in the CMA Pinnacle Awards contest. The 2018-2019 DM also won an Honorable Mention in this contest.

The University of California-Los Angeles Daily Bruin won first, The Michigan Daily at University of Michigan was second, The Daily Orange at Syracuse University was third, and The DM tied with California State University-Fullerton for Honorable Mention.

“These are both national awards, meaning student newspapers from all across the country enter in the contests, and we compete against extremely talented student journalists who work for great publications,” Payne said. “In these instances, we ranked among the top 20 and top five newspapers to compete, respectively.”

Payne said he believes what made The DM stand apart are the combined passion, creativity and dedication of the staff.

“It’s a joy to work with people who are driven to serve their community and are talented enough to do it in such a powerful way,” he said. “The staff was one of the most talented, inspiring groups of people with which I’ve had the pleasure of working.

“At the end of the day, that is what these student journalists work so hard to do: serve their campus and community through quality reporting. It’s really wonderful to see that passion and talent recognized on the national level.”

Payne said it’s also impossible to understate the importance of the editorial advisors at the Student Media Center.

“Our advisors taught us, believed in us and led by example for us — all while giving us the independence to allow us to own the newspaper we produced,” he said.

Daniel Payne

Daniel Payne

Payne said if you want to lead, serve, create, think and learn, the Student Media Center is the place for you.

“I worked for student media from my first semester at UM, and it has been the highlight of my education at the university,” he said. “I was smarter, more inspired, more engaged and more successful because of my time at the Student Media Center — especially because of the effort of the faculty at the SMC.”

Eliza Noe served as managing editor for the 2019-2020 Daily Mississippian staff. She is now the editor-in-chief.

“Hundreds of papers all over the country submit for (these awards), and that involves choosing your best five issues,” Noe said. “They didn’t split it up into categories, so we were in the running with weekly, daily and bi-weekly publications. It’s amazing to see that our hard work was able to compete with other really great student work.”

Eliza Noe

Eliza Noe

Noe said the 2019-2020 DM staff was a “dream team.”

“Everyone on staff was on the same page about what kind of coverage we wanted to have, and that went across all sections of the paper,” she said. “We also became very close as friends, and I think that helped a lot with team-building and cooperation. It was definitely rewarding to see how much everyone had grown by the end of last semester.”

Noe also commended the advisors.

“I think having both journalistic and editorial freedom, and also constructive feedback, makes the Student Media Center one of the best places to learn,” she said.

Noe began working at the DM her freshmen year.

“There’s no way I would be as comfortable in my own abilities if I didn’t have the newsroom experience I’ve had,” she said. “Getting to learn all of the levels of how a publication works has shown what I’m passionate about and how to get there.

“I think working at the Student Media Center allows you to actually apply the skills you learn in a classroom in a way you can use to better yourself as a journalist, designer, photographer, etc. We welcome anyone who’s interested in putting in the work.”

If you are interested in getting involved with The Daily Mississippian, you may email Noe at dmeditor@gmail.com or the newsdesk thedmnews@gmail.com.

UM School of Journalism and New Media grad lands job with New York Daily News

Posted on: March 1st, 2019 by ldrucker

A University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media student who worked in student media just landed a job as a reporter with New York Daily News.

Blake Alsup wrote to tell us it has been hectic trying to move and settle into his new apartment.

“I started my new job as a national breaking news reporter at the New York Daily News on Feb. 25,” he said. “For years, I’ve dreamed of living and working as a journalist in New York. Now I’m working with an online team that seeks out relevant and interesting news around the country for our readers.

“I’m thankful for experience I gained as a journalism student at Ole Miss in classes and while working at The Daily Mississippian as a reporter and later as an editor.”

Alsup said he wouldn’t have landed the job if he hadn’t participated in The King’s College New York City Semester of Journalism in the fall 2017. He took classes and interned at the Daily News during experience.

“That’s where I met and worked for my current editor,” he said. “He kept up with my work when I returned to Ole Miss and interned at The Detroit News and offered me a job after graduation, so that’s how I ended up here.”

Are you a recent School of Journalism and New Media graduate who has landed your dream job? If so, we want to hear from you. Email ldrucker@olemiss.edu to share your story.

To learn more about the King’s College program, click here.

Assistant dean, students earn 21 awards at journalism conference

Posted on: February 19th, 2019 by ldrucker

Assistant Dean of the School of Journalism and New Media Patricia Thompson was honored as Educator of the Year at the 33rd annual Southeast Journalism Conference last weekend.

“I had no idea I was even nominated for the award, so it was a complete surprise to me,” Thompson said. “I’m still pretty emotional about it. Journalism has been my passion since I was elected editor of my school newsletter when I was 11 years old. I’ve been teaching here and in charge of student media for almost 10 years, and it has truly been a dream job.”

Middle Tennessee State University hosted the 2019 conference in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, with over 300 students and advisers in attendance.

Thompson was nominated for the honor by current and former students, and she was chosen by a committee of the three most recent recipients of the award. After graduating from the University of Missouri, Thompson worked for The Washington Post and taught at Northwestern University. She was also a part of the San Jose Mercury News staff that was awarded the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for general news reporting.

“Assistant Dean Thompson has been a leader for many years in journalism education,” said Will Norton, the dean of the School of Journalism and New Media. “As the executive director of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, she is the major player in maintaining the quality of journalism education around the world.”

University of Mississippi students also won awards in the two regional contests sponsored by the conference. The Best of the South contest honors the work of student journalists from throughout the previous year, and the on-site competitions gave students the opportunity to compete on deadline during the conference.

In the Best of the South competition, The Daily Mississippian was awarded fifth place for Best College Newspaper. It was the only daily newspaper competing for Best of the South.

“I’m incredibly proud of our staff’s work over the last year, and I think this showing among a field of weekly and monthly papers is a testament to some incredible dedication and hard work over here,” Slade Rand, editor-in-chief of The Daily Mississippian, said. “It was really cool to get that award, even if it is simply a reminder that other people do notice what we do.”

Also in the Best of the South contest, NewsWatch Ole Miss’s Madison Scarpino won first place for TV hard news reporting.

Second place Best of the South awards included Devna Bose for feature writing, Elizabeth Blackstock, Katie Campbell and Jessi Dressler for journalism research paper and Rebel Radio for radio news audio program.

Third place awards included Hayden Benge for news graphic design, DeAndria Turner for radio journalism and Rebel Radio for radio station.

Other individual awards included: Mary Clair Kelly, who won fifth place for TV news feature reporting; Slade Rand, who won sixth place for news writing; Liam Nieman, who won seventh place place for arts and entertainment writing; Jaz Brisack, who won seventh place for opinion-editorial writing and Brittany Brown, who won eighth place for College Journalist of the Year.

“I’ve worked with some super talented young journalists who have graduated and are doing great work as professional journalists, and I know this year’s staff will do the same,” Thompson said. “Every day, I marvel at how hard they work under deadline pressure to produce such outstanding content to keep the community informed.”

In addition to 13 Best of the South awards, the University of Mississippi also won second place for the Grand Championship of on-site competitions with seven individual wins.

“I was absolutely thrilled for our students that won awards at SEJC, especially the on-site awards,” NewsWatch Ole Miss Station Manager Abbie McIntosh said. “Those awards showed everyone and ourselves, that we know how to produce good work under pressure and tight deadlines. Like I’ve said before, everyone puts in hard work and dedication, day in and day out, and to win some awards is a really good feeling.”

Matthew Hendley won first place in the on-site competition for TV anchoring, and Hayden Benge, Hailey McKee and Davis Roberts won first place as a team for public relations.

Second place awards went to Devna Bose for feature writing and Abbie McIntosh and Madison Scarpino for TV reporting.

Third place awards went to Liam Nieman for arts and entertainment writing and Slade Rand for news writing.

This story was written by Hadley Hitson and originally published in The Daily Mississippian.

Who is the Black Panther? Former Daily Mississippian Editor Jesse Holland wrote the book

Posted on: February 21st, 2018 by ldrucker

Holly Springs native Jesse Holland crafted his most recent novel, “Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther?,” using skills he honed during his undergraduate years at Ole Miss.

Holland started at Ole Miss in 1989, immediately going to work for The Oxford Eagle. There, he covered the town of Water Valley, high school sports, and just “whatever had to be done.” One of his most memorable moments was when a writer came in the office asking if anyone wanted to interview him. That writer was John Grisham.

UM alumnus Jesse Holland Jr. has written a novel for Marvel to reintroduce its 1960s superhero ‘Black Panther,’ the main character in a new blockbuster film.

Later, Holland worked for The Daily Mississippian as a news editor before climbing to managing editor and all the way to editor-in-chief. He helped craft a comic strip along with two other students called “Hippie and the Black Guy” that made light of stereotypes for the paper, all while a full-time student double majoring in journalism and English. He also worked for Rebel Radio as a DJ for his rap show and talk show, and was a cameraman for the school’s TV newscast.

“All of the professors at Ole Miss insisted that we all learn different forms of journalism. I went from room to room in Farley Hall,” Holland said. “I tried to stick my finger in every form of journalism I could, and Ole Miss encouraged it.”

Meek School of Journalism and New Media Dean Will Norton found Holland when he was in high school in Mount Pleasant and encouraged him to come to Ole Miss.

“I would have never been at Ole Miss if it wasn’t for Dean Norton,” Holland said. “He has been to a great mentor to me all of these years.”

Norton described Holland as “exceptional” and credited his success to his work ethic.

“I wish I had his character. He is so honest and hardworking, and he never complains. If he talks about something being bad, he does so with a smile on his face,” Norton said. “When Jesse Holland tells you something, you can trust that it’s the truth. I look up to him, not just because he’s taller than me.”

Ever since his time at Ole Miss, Holland has been writing books and for The Associated Press and now lives in Washington, D.C.

Holland has been writing since 2005. His books mainly focusing on African-American history, and he was approached by an editor at Lucas Films in 2016 about writing the backstory for a character named Finn in the “Star Wars” trilogy.

“(Star Wars) was one of the first films I saw in a theater,” he said. “I jumped at the chance, and ‘The Force Awakens: Finn’s Story’ came out.”

After reading the story, an editor at Marvel contacted Holland about writing a story for the latest film about the Black Panther. A comic book fan, Holland readily agreed.

“Marvel wanted a novel retelling the origin of the Black Panther in time for the 2018 movie release so people wouldn’t have to read all of the comic books to figure out his history,” he said. “I’ve been reading them since I was 5 or 6 years old.”

Holland said he had an advantage because he wouldn’t need to be sent the comic books – he already owned them all.

“Back at Ole Miss, I used to drive from campus to Memphis to be there when the comic books came out on Wednesdays. It was a weekly pilgrimage for me and my friends,” he said. “When Marvel came to me, I said, ‘I have all of the comic books down in my basement.’ It was a great experience – it gave me an excuse to read comic books.”

Dex McCain, Holland’s fraternity brother with whom he pledged the Eta Zeta chapter of Omega Phi Psi Fraternity, Inc., the first black Greek-lettered charter at Ole Miss, remembered Holland’s love of comic books in college.

“We knew he was destined for this. The things he’s done have prepared him for this, and he has always had a passion for comic books,” McCain said. “Even in college, he would read comic books. He’s just the right person for it. I’m so proud of him. He’s always been a perennial all-star. Anything he did, he did well and with passion. To me, he tells every story like it is, and that’s what you see in his books, including ‘Black Panther.’”

Holland drew inspiration for his novel about the Black Panther from his own life, something he’s learned to do with his fiction writing over the years.

“A lot of people in my life are represented from the book. You write what you see and you write what you know. I pull from every source that I can,” he said. “The speech patterns come from people I see on a daily basis.”

Marvel gave Holland free reign to work on the book, so he started it in Washington, D.C., where he lives at places he’s familiar with, like the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

“If you’re the king of Wakanda, where else would you go?” he said.

Marvin King, professor of political science and African-American history, met Holland as an alumnus and said he believes his background in history research has made his fiction writing stronger.

“He brings a lot of knowledge about the subject,” he said. “He’s done so much prior research about historical matters of race in America. He’s worked in a lot of different places, so he’s been exposed to a lot of different stories as a reporter, and I think that’s all coming together in his latest project.”

Holland said he incorporated as much of the real world as possible, but shied away from including much politics.

“I did do a little flavor of what the world would be like if these characters were real. How would the politics of a hidden country in Africa play with America?” he said. “But this is a superhero story – I had to make sure there were enough punches being thrown. I don’t delve too much into ‘meat grinder’ politics. I tried to look at it from the point of view from someone from Wakanda.”

The movie shattered box office records and is expected to earn $218 million domestically and $387 million worldwide for the four-day holiday weekend. Malco’s Oxford Commons Cinema Grill was overflowing with crowds to see “Black Panther” for the film’s opening. Holland went to go see it with his kids Thursday night.

On the film’s significance, Holland stressed the importance of having an African-American superhero protagonist.

“Growing up, I didn’t have those type of heroes on the big screen. There were very few African or African-American superheroes on television or movies when I grew up. Today, kids will have these characters – they will be able to say, ‘I want to be that,’” he said. “I got the chance to take my kids Thursday night, and they were transfixed because out of all the superhero stories they’ve seen, never have they been to a superhero movie where everybody looks like them. That’s so important for the kids, and I’m just happy that I got to play a small part in crafting this character for the new century.”

Daily Mississippian sponsors ‘Cookies, Coffee & Conversation’

Posted on: September 13th, 2017 by ldrucker

The Daily Mississippian sponsored a “Cookies, Coffee & Conversation” open house at the Student Media Center on Wednesday evening, Sept. 13. Chancellor Jeff Vitter and his wife, Sharon, were among the guests who stopped by and met with DM editors.

Pictured with the Vitters are DM Managing Editor Slade Rand, Social Media Editor Anessa Guess, Graphics Designer Emily Hoffman and Editor in Chief Lana Ferguson.

Student Media Center celebrates successful year of work

Posted on: May 5th, 2017 by ldrucker

As graduation nears, many University of Mississippi’s Meek School of Journalism students who are enrolled in the journalism and marketing programs will be leaving us to pursue careers in their chosen fields. They will be missed.

To show our appreciation for their hard work and dedication this year, the Meek School held a Student Media Center end-of-the-year celebration Tuesday, May 2. The group photo is of graduating seniors, many of whom have worked in Student Media all four years.

Taylor Grocery catered the event. All photos were taken by The Daily Mississippian photo editor Cameron Brooks, an integrated marketing communications major.