COLLEGE PARK — The University of Maryland and the Philip Merrill College of Journalism were well-represented as the Society of Professional Journalists recently honored the best collegiate journalism in Region 2 with its 2022 Mark of Excellence Awards.
UMD students won five awards and added nine finalists across 11 categories, spanning print/online, art/graphics/multimedia and broadcast categories. The recognized projects were published or broadcast by Merrill College's Capital News Service and CNS TV, as well as The Diamondback.
Jack White ’22 won in the Television In-Depth Reporting category for his CNS TV piece, “Nursing shortage,” and was a finalist for the Television Feature Reporting award for his CNS TV story, “Boxing mentor.”
Kyle Russo ’23 won in the Data Visualization category for Capital News Service’s “In Maryland’s opioid crisis, fentanyl is driving deaths across the board.”
Noah Ferguson ’23 won in the Feature Writing (Large) category for The Diamondback’s “‘It was an ass-whoopin’: 2002 Maryland football team reflects on Peach Bowl win.”
Rohin Mishra ’24, a government and politics and economics double major, won the General Column Writing award for his work in The Diamondback.
Nicky Wolcott ’24 won the Sports Writing (Large) award for The Diamondback’s “Perfection: Maryland men’s lacrosse defeats Cornell, 9-7, clinches fourth NCAA championship.”
SPJ’s Region 2 comprises Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia. First-place winners will compete at the national level among other MOE winners from the 12 SPJ regions. National winners will be recognized at SPJ’s 2023 convention in Las Vegas, Sept. 28-30.
Here is the complete list of winners and finalists from UMD:
Print/Online
Feature Writing (Large)
Winner: ‘It was an ass-whoopin’: 2002 Maryland football team reflects on Peach Bowl win — by Noah Ferguson, The Diamondback, University of Maryland
Sports Writing (Large)
Winner: Perfection: Maryland men’s lacrosse defeats Cornell, 9-7, clinches fourth NCAA championship — by Nicky Wolcott, The Diamondback, University of Maryland
General Column Writing
Winner: Columns — by Rohin Mishra, The Diamondback, University of Maryland
Breaking News Reporting (Large)
Finalist: In historic vote, Senate confirms Jackson as first Black woman justice on Supreme Court — by Margaret Attridge, Ross O’Keefe, Chris Barylick and Ashkan Motamedi, Capital News Service, University of Maryland
In-Depth Reporting (Large)
Finalist: UMD student health insurance sees largest price hike in a decade — by Hannah Ziegler, The Diamondback, University of Maryland
Art/Graphics/Multimedia
Data Visualization
Winner: In Maryland’s opioid crisis, fentanyl is driving deaths across the board — by Kyle Russo, Capital News Service, University of Maryland
Photo Essay/Slideshow
Finalist: Hundreds take to D.C. to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — by Cam Andrews, Daryl Perry and Christine Zhu, The Diamondback, University of Maryland
Broadcast
Television In-Depth Reporting
Winner: Nursing shortage — by Jack White, CNS-TV News, University of Maryland
Finalist: Women baseball payers — by Kevin McNulty, CNS-TV News, University of Maryland
Television General News Reporting
Finalist: Ranked-choice voting — by Jessica Umbro, CNS-TV NEWS, University of Maryland
Finalist: Tough economy — by Madeline Herron, CNS-TV NEWS, University of Maryland
Television Feature Reporting
Finalist: Boxing mentor — by Jack White, CNS-TV NEWS, University of Maryland
Finalist: Mobile barber — by Abigail Russ, CNS-TV NEWS, University of Maryland
Television Sports Reporting
Finalist: Go-kart girls — by Valeria Gonzalez, CNS-TV News, University of Maryland
For more information, contact:
Josh Land
joshland@umd.edu
301-405-1321