Ole Miss students honored by SPJ

University of Misissippi students won nine awards – including four first-place awards – in the annual Mark of Excellence regional contest, sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists.

“The Roads of Broken Dreams” was named Best Student Magazine. The depth report featured articles and photography about the north Mississippi Delta, produced by nine students in the Meek School of Journalism and New Media.

Natalie Dickson won three awards for her work published in the magazine and in The Daily Mississippian. She won first place for non-fiction magazine article for “Clarksdale Sings the Blues,” first place for feature writing for “Fried Chicken, Sweet Tea and…Hot Tamales?” and second place for in-depth reporting for “Emmett Till Commission Seeks Unity.”

Knox Graham won first place for Radio News Reporting for “Medano Fire,” from his internship at KRCC.

In the best all-around daily student newspaper category, The Daily Mississippian won third place. Daily Mississippian cartoonist Josh Clark won second place for editorial cartooning, and Alex McDaniel won third place in feature writing for “In the Face of Adversity.”

Stephen Quinn won third place in the television breaking news category for “Masoli Live Shot,” which aired on NewsWatch Ch. 99.

Awards certificates, for work published or broadcast in 2010, were handed out at the SPJ Region 12 conference on March 27 in Nashville. Region 12 includes Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. First-place regional winners advance to the national round of judging. Those winners will be announced in May.