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MCMA: Evangel campus newspaper, website take first place honors

Published on Jun 14, 2017 by Evangel University News

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Evangel University student newspaper, The Lance, was recently honored by the Missouri College Media Association (MCMA) as the Best Overall Newspaper and the Best Newspaper Website in Division 3.

MCMA is the state organization for student print media and is affiliated with the Missouri Press Association. Entries are judged by professional media members.

The Evangel newspaper received six first place awards and 16 awards all together at the state-wide competition, held recently in St. Joseph, Mo.

In addition, Evangel’s student yearbook, Excalibur, received nine awards — including first place in Sports Photography.

“The MCMA awards are recognition of the faithful, excellent work that the students produce week after week,” said Melinda Booze, assistant professor of communication at Evangel. “As advisers, we see the students put in long hours, solve problems and produce relevant content on a daily basis.”

This year’s MCMA contest recognized excellent student media content published in 2016. Division 3 is for small colleges. There are four divisions, and the Best Overall Newspaper from each category is then judged for the title of Best in State, which was won by The Chart from Missouri Southern State University.

“It is extra special that professionals judge objectively the students for their work,” added Booze, advisor to The Lance. “We are proud that these students are continuing the great legacy of Evangel student media.”

NEWSPAPER Awards

2017 - Mallory Johnson
Mallory Johnson // (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Evangel’s student newspaper, The Lance, received 16 MCMA awards. Mallory Johnson, sophomore, served as editor-in-chief, and Melinda Booze, assistant professor of communication, serves as the newspaper’s faculty adviser.

First Place Awards:

  • Best Overall Newspaper – Division 3
  • Newspaper Website: Vincent Bushong
  • Editorial Writing: Mallory Johnson and Kirstin Tally
  • Sports Photography: Billy Hansen
  • News Writing: Mallory Johnson
  • Entertainment Review: Jon Spence

Second Place Awards:

  • Sweepstakes: Division 3
  • Feature Page: Mallory Johnson
  • Sports Page: Courtney Wolfram
  • Feature Photography: Alexa Ramos
  • News Writing: Dari’Anne Hudson
  • Feature Writing: Jon Spence

Honorable Mention:

  • Non-Political/Entertainment Cartoon: Kirstin Tally
  • Sports Photography: Alexa Ramos
  • Feature Photography: Peace Aisogun
  • Sports Writing: Ryan Heffernon

The Lance staff has worked so hard this entire year. It’s really nice to see everyone rewarded and recognized for it,” said Johnson. “There is a lot of competition for these awards. To see our team take first place in six categories and 16 awards overall is amazing and I could not be more proud.”

YEARBOOK Awards

2017 Abriana DelTufo
Abriana DelTufo // (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

Excalibur, the student yearbook, received nine awards in MCMA’s contest. Abriana DelTufo, senior, served as the editor-in-chief, and Nancy Pace-Miller, assistant professor of communication, serves as the yearbook’s faculty advisor.

First Place Awards:

  • Sports Photography: Rachel Boyd

Second Place Awards:

  • Overall Theme Development
  • Portrait Design: Jacob Gerding and Emily Brown
  • Sports Photography: Rachel Boyd

Third Place Awards:

  • Feature Photography: Chloe Wead
  • Feature Writing: Joseph Burnash
  • Portrait Design: Jacob Gerding and Emily Brown
  • Student Life Design: Emily Brown and Jacob Gerding

Honorable Mention:

  • Sports Design: Emily Brown, Jacob Gerding, Kaitlyn Hong and Abriana DelTufo

“I am continually blessed and impressed by the Excalibur staff and the awards that we receive year after year,” said DelTufo. “All of the photographers, designers, and writers worked tremendously hard to produce a book that would cherish the memories from the 2015-2016 school year.”

The Department of Communication

Evangel’s student media began with the newspaper when the University was founded in 1955, and opportunities have expanded with the changing times.

“Our students study video, audio and film production, journalism, public relations, advertising, public speaking, multimedia design and much more — all applied through methods of electronic media, print and oral communication,” said Dr. Cameron Pace, chair of the Department of Communication.

In addition to the award-winning print media, the Evangel University TV news show — Newswatch Today — was awarded first place in the nation in 2015 and 2016, by the Society of Collegiate Journalists, for “Television News Show Overall Excellence.”

The TV studio and control room at Evangel University run state-of-the-art 4K technology, and students do multi-camera live productions in the studio and out on the field.

For more information on the Department of Communication, contact Dr. Pace at pacec@evangel.edu .

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