A professor and several students at the West Virginia University P.I. Reed School of Journalism were recently recognized by international and regional award committees for their excellent work in the field of journalism.

The Broadcast Education Association awarded Teaching Assistant Professor Emily Hughes Corio first place in the faculty audio competition at this year’s Festival of Media Arts competition. She won the “Best of Festival” award for her radio piece, Fish Return to a Mining Country River, on the “comeback” of the highly polluted Cheat River in Northeastern West Virginia aired on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” last summer.

The BEA Festival of Media Arts is an international refereed exhibition of faculty creative activities and a national showcase for student works.

The Society of Professional Journalists also recently announced this year’s Region 4 Mark of Excellence Awards winners, which honor the best in student journalism. The School of Journalism received four first-place awards.

Aaron Bodkins, Kristen Basham and Dave Carl won the Online Feature Reporting category for their West Virginia Uncovered piece, Off the Grid. Thomas Terrarosa’s story, Two West Virginia Mothers Support Legislation to Legalize Medical Marijuana in the Mountain State, won the Online In-Depth Reporting category and the Online News Reporting category. Mike Ploger won the Television Sports Photography category for his piece, WVU Gymnastics Success.

School of Journalism students also were named as finalists in several categories at the regional SPJ competition. Journalism senior and WVU News reporter Branford Marks was a finalist in two categories: the Television Feature category for his story, Advance, and the Television News/Feature Photography category for Shack After School Program. Other honorees from WVU News included Alyssa Casalino for Athletes Going Pro in the Television Sports Reporting category; Marisa Matyola for DUI in the Television In-Depth Reporting category and Breana Marquand for Traffic Construction in the Television Feature Reporting category. Diane Jeanty received an honorable mention in the Online Feature Reporting category for her West Virginia Uncovered story, Milton Maze: Getting People Lost for 13 Years.

SPJ’s Region 4 comprises Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and parts of western Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh. First-place Region 4 winners will move on to the national competition, and winners will be notified this fall.

-WVU-

al/04/15/14

CONTACT: Kimberly Walker, School of Journalism
304.293.5726, Kimberly.Walker@mail.wvu.edu

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