Zhao Dan
Staff Writer
The Jackson State University campus newspaper, The Blue & White Flash, won 15 awards including two top awards at the 16th Annual O. C. McDavid Journalism Conference sponsored by the Mississippi Press Association on March 27, 2014.
Alan Wells, a senior chemistry major from Greenville, Miss. won first place in Best Editorial Cartoon and Dominique McCraney, a graduate student majoring in computer engineering from Greenville, Miss. who serves as a photographer for The Flash won first place in the Best Miscellaneous Advertisement category. Both placed in other categories as well.
“I was surprised to win two awards from my work with The Blue & White Flash. I have been working with the Flash for two years now and it has been a wonderful experience. Everybody I worked with was so welcoming and I’m very proud to be a part of the paper,” said Wells.
McCraney, a three year member of The Flash staff, stated that winning four awards at the contest was exciting.
“It was rewarding to be able to represent JSU and The Flash at the conference. I have been working hard to win awards in previous contests and to bring home four was wonderful,” said McCraney.
In the senior colleges and universities division of the contest, The Flash won seven Second Place awards, four Third Place awards and two Honorable Mention awards, including Second Place in overall General Excellence, Best Website, Best Editorial Cartoon, Best Miscellaneous Advertisement, Best Editorial, Best Feature Photo and Best Editorials; Third Place in Best General News Photo, Best Sports Photo, Best Design and Best General News Story; and Honorable Mention in Best Sports Story and Best Front Page.
Since 1999, the MPA Education Foundation (MPAEF) has hosted the one-day workshop and awards contest for colleges and universities in Mississippi and promote
journalism education in the state.
The conference is named after the late O.C. McDavid, former managing editor of The Jackson Daily News, who actively pursued a second career as an artist and sculptor after retiring from journalism.
The event included a luncheon and the presentation of the annual Better Newspaper Contest Student Division awards at the conclusion of the day’s activities.
Charles Overby, the former chairman of the Newseum and Newsroom Diversity Institute encouraged students to be courageous and curious during his keynote address.
“Curiosity is one of the most important qualities in a journalist. The best reporters can think about the right questions and ask why. Be courageous for yourself; be courageous when asking an outrageous question. Listen and learn, exceed your own expectations; do what others do not want to do, do more than what people think you are capable of,” said Overby. “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.”
Overby also pointed out the importance of writing clearly and the current situation of news platforms.
“If you can write clearly, you can rule the world. It can help you in many professions,” said Overby. “There are more people reading and emerging in news; people don’t look for news, they believe if it is big enough, it will find them. The country needs good journalists; our country needs you.”
Overby used the acronym C.L.E.A.R.” as principles all journalists should follow while pursuing a career in journalism. He stated that the acronym stood for curiosity and courage, listen and learn, exceed expectations, advocacy and adaptability, and read and research. He also noted that “A+B+C+D+E=Fairness”, which means accurate, balance, completeness, detachment, and ethics. He said they helped him write better and would also help the students.
Gina Chen, an assistant professor of journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi presented a lecture on “The Future of News” and discussed how to tell stories in a digital age.
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