Ten Daily Helmsman staff members recently received national and regional awards for their writing talents.
Sophomore journalism major Chelsea Boozer received the William Randolph Hearst Foundation's Journalism Award on Jan. 31 for her story "Inside RSOs: Part 1 of 3," which gave an overview of how students' fees were being used by Student Activities Council and Student Government Association.
Boozer placed third among 98 students and was given a $1,500 scholarship. Her award was matched with a $1,500 grant to The University of Memphis Department of Journalism.
According to Candace Justice, general manager of The Daily Helmsman, this was, to her memory, the highest ranking a U of M student has ever achieved.
Nine other Daily Helmsman staff members received awards at the Southeast Journalism Conference's "Best of the South" contest on Friday. The 2011 Annual Convention took place from Thursday to Saturday at Troy University in Troy, Ala.
Recipients of awards included senior journalism majors Mike Mueller, Scott Carroll, Amy Barnette, Chris Shaw and Louis Goggans, junior journalism major Erica Horton and recent graduates Sara Patterson, Joseph Russell and Megan Brown.
Of these, Mueller, The Helmsman's current managing editor, was awarded first place in the news reporting category, and Horton, a news reporter on staff, placed first in the special events reporting category.
Carroll, editor-in-chief, received third place in the news reporting category, and Barnette, copy and design chief, received third place for opinion/editorial writing. Shaw, a current news reporter, and former news reporters Goggans and Brown tied for second in the public service journalism category. In the sports writing category, former sports reporter Patterson was awarded second place, and Russell, former sports editor, received sixth place.
According to Justice, The Daily Helmsman always wins awards in the "Best of the South" contest, though there were more recipients this year than any previous year.
"A couple of the winners have graduated, but I think we have a real dream team this year," Justice said. "So I'm not surprised but excited."
Justice said the journalism department selects and enters the students' articles in the contest.
"Unlike most contests where a story wins, the SEJC awards individuals," she said. "Three stories are submitted that represent the best work of each individual. Obviously, the three stories have to fit in each category."
One of Mueller's three articles included his findings on how some U of M offices were breaking the law by withholding public records. Horton's submitted stories focused on economic issues.
Justice said that this year, The U of M won in every category but one.
Daily Helmsman reporters and editors competed against 32 other eligible schools in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Carroll said that the high number of recipients selected this year reflects positively on the newspaper.
"In the two years I've been at The Daily Helmsman," he said, "the content and quality of reporters has improved, and the awards show that."
Patterson graduated in December and received a yearlong fellowship at the Commercial Appeal. She said The U of M's journalism department and The Daily Helmsman helped her refine her journalism skills.
"I learned a lot from the journalism department and especially The Daily Helmsman," she said. "It was good for me to work on real stories instead of just work for classes."
