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Reflector Staff wins state and regional-level awards

Congratulations to the students of The Reflector, who have won five regional-level journalism awards in the Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence competition.  Region 5 includes colleges and universities in the states of Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.  Entries were judged by media professionals, and the awards were announced on April 10.  The first-place winners will go on to compete at the national level among other regional MOE winners from the 12 SPJ regions. These students won awards:

  • The Reflector staff, Best Affiliated Website, Finalist, The Reflector
  • Tony Reeves, Best General News Photography, Winner, Health Science Safety Photo*
  • Noah Crenshaw, Best COVID-19: Newspaper, Magazine and Online Coverage, Finalist, Breaking News Coverage of UIndy Shutdown due to COVID-19+
  • Nathan Herbst, Noah Fields, Jacob Walton and Giselle Valentin, Best COVID-19: Newspaper, Magazine and Online Coverage, Winner, The Reflector COVID-19 Coverage+*
  • Nathan Herbst, Best General Column Writing, Winner, The Reflector Column Writing*

+Swept the category

*Continues to national competition

The Reflector also won 30 state-level journalism awards in the Indiana Collegiate Press Association competition. Congratulations to these students!

  • The Reflector, Division II Newspaper of the Year, Second Place
  • Ethan Gerling, Best Entertainment Column, Second Place, “UIndy Entertainment Outlook: When to End a TV Show”
  • Taylor Strnad and Nathan Herbst, Best Entertainment Story, Third Place, “Studio Art Major Paints Mural at Books & Brews South Indy”
  • Noah Crenshaw, Best In-Depth Story, Third Place, “Indiana Facing a Variety of Domestic Terrorism Threats”
  • Kiara Conley, Best News Story, Second Place, “‘Murder Sheet’ Podcast Debuts with the 1970s Burger Chef Homicide Case”
  • Tony Reeves, Best Opinion Column, First Place, “The Problem with Police Training in the U.S.”
  • Nathan Herbst, Best Sports Column, First Place, “Being a Student-Athlete during the COVID-19 Pandemic”
  • Jacob Walton, Best Sports Column, Second Place, “Is UIndy’s GLVC Dominance an Issue?”
  • Jacob Walton, Best Sports Feature Story, First Place, “A Life of Basketball: Mickey and Shira Sasson’s Trip from Ashdod, Israel, to Indianapolis, Indiana”
  • Giselle Valentin, Best Sports News Story, Third Place, “Cross Country Prepares for GLVC Meets during COVID-19”
  • Staff of The Reflector, Best Staff Editorial, Second Place, “UIndy Could Have Done More to Protect Campus”
  • Jacob Walton, Best Feature Photo, First Place, “Faculty Artist Series”
  • Jayden Kennett, Best News Photo, First Place, “Protests in Downtown Indy”
  • Jacob Walton, Best Sports Photo, Second Place, “Basketball Player Celebrates”
  • Ethan Gerling, Best Editorial Cartoon, First Place, “Car Thefts Editorial Cartoon”
  • Justus O’Neil, Best Feature Page, Third Place, “Feb. 19, 2020, Feature Page”
  • Noah Crenshaw and Ethan Gerling, Best Front Page, Third Place, “Feb. 19, 2020, Front Page”
  • Noah Fields, Best Informational Graphic, Second Place, “COVID-19 Resources for UIndy Students”
  • Ethan Gerling, Best Informational Graphic, Third Place, “UIndy vs. COVID-19 PSA”
  • Staff of The Reflector, Best Overall Design, First Place, “Oct. 21, 2020, Issue”
  • Staff of The Reflector, Best Single Issue, First Place, “Feb. 19, 2020, Issue”
  • Jacob Walton, Best Sports Page, Third Place, “Feb. 5, 2020, Sports Page”
  • The Reflector, Best in the Online Division, Third Place
  • Noah Crenshaw, Kiara Conley, and Tony Reeves, Best Blog, First Place, “May 30, 2020, Protests in Indianapolis”
  • Noah Crenshaw and Kiara Conley, Best Blog, Second Place, “Aftermath of May 30, 2020, Protests in Indianapolis”
  • Staff of The Reflector, Best Overall Website, Third Place, The Reflector Online
  • Staff of The Reflector, Best Overall Website Design, Third Place, The Reflector Online
  • The Reflector, Advertising Publication of the Year, Third Place
  • Taylor Strnad and Ethan Gerling, Best General Media Kit/Marketing Package, Second Place, “The Reflector Media Kit (2020-2021)”
  • Noah Crenshaw, Brook Baker Collegiate Journalist of the Year, Runner-Up