The Signpost, KWCR news win awards

The Signpost was acknowledged for its award-winning excellence by the Society of Professional Journalists through individual and general awards last week.

The Signpost was in good company at the contest. The KWCR Weber State News station entered the SPJ contest for the first time and won a third-place award for spot news.

"We've always done well at this competition because the staff works as a team to produce a high quality paper," said Tanna Barry, editor in chief of The Signpost and Weber State University's SPJ president. "It's nice to have this recognition of the hard work and long hours we all put in."

The Signpost won the third-place award for Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper. Several staff members were also recognized for their individual writing.

Barry was named in five of The Signpost's eight awards. Her awards included two first places in Editorial Writing and Spot News, two third-place awards for In-depth Reporting, Sports Writing and as a part of the Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Award. Some of these awards were part of group entries, of which Barry was the primary author.

"Everyone on staff has done a remarkable job this year," Barry said.

Jose Carvajal, managing editor, was another award winner. He won third place for Sports Column Writing and was part of the third place win for In-depth Reporting.

"Anytime you're recognized as one of the top papers in the region it's a sign you're doing something right," Carvajal said.

This was not the first time Carvajal has been recognized by SPJ. He won an award last year for his article that was entered as part of a group news series.

"It's always an honor to be recognized for the work that you do," Carvajal said.

Jamie Peterson, assistant sports editor, won second in Sports Writing for an article regarding the growing trend of eating disorders among female athletes. The idea for the article came after Peterson realized the issue of eating disorders was something found in the WSU athletic department, she said.

"It's really a big honor to know that my hard work in the year has paid off," Peterson said.

Utah chapters of SPJ include Brigham Young University, Southern Utah University, the University of Utah and Utah State University, which The Signpost beat in several categories.

Region 9 includes universities from Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. The Signpost walked away with eight awards.

"I think that it's wonderful," said President Paul H. Thompson, "The Signpost really does well. It reflects the quality of work that they do there."

The staff also thought the awards were reflective of The Signpost organization.

"It shows what a great department we have and what a great organization we are," Peterson said.

The awards also act as an example of how the newspaper is capable of competing with other newspapers.

"I think this tells professional newspapers that Weber State University has a fine journalism program and a long history of excellence in journalism," said Allison Hess, The Signpost advisor.

You can reach reporter Devon Crus by calling 626-7655.