The Daily Universe wins 24 SPJ awards

By: Eveline Radu

The Daily Universe brought home 24 awards from the Society of Professional Journalists Headliners Awards dinner on June 11. Twelve of the 24 awards won by BYU’s campus newspaper were first place honors.

Kaye Nelson, the editorial lab manager, said she entered the Daily Universe in all 28 of the competitive categories offered this year.

“We had three students take first place on a story they collaborated on, but all others were individual awards,” Nelson said. “We had 24 wins out of 28 categories entered—not bad for a year’s worth of work.”

The Daily Universe Facebook page, a graphic design from New Student Orientation, and 10 students’ individual pieces earned first-place awards.

Hailey Keller’s profile article on local artist Erasmo Fuentes warranted her spot with the other nine writers who took first-place recognitions for their work. Other students who received this top honor include David Mortimer with his story about the Flash’s Michael Jordan scam, and Stephanie Rhodes’ photo essay on the Passover.

Nelson lauded the recognized Daily Universe students, calling them the cream of the crop.

“They are great students with a desire to write interesting, in-depth articles,” Nelson said.

The Daily Universe is known locally and nationally for its outstanding performance. The number of awards received by these students grabbed the attention of Allison Barlow Hess, president of the Utah SPJ chapter, who congratulated the winners and acknowledged their success this year.

Articles on Charles Darwin, a Max Hall design, and coverage on the murder of a BYU professor won second place awards at the local SPJ contest. The Daily Universe received third-place recognition for Best Newspaper and for articles on missing people. Student McKay Coppins was third in the overall Best Reporter category.

The Daily Universe editor-in-chief Ed Carter said that the purpose of The Daily Universe is to provide a quality campus lab experience in journalism.

“We measure the success of the campus lab experience in several ways, including external awards on state, regional and national levels,” Carter said.

The Daily Universe is well-read amongst students, faculty and staff. Most of the 18,500 published copies are read on a daily basis.

“Our students at the Daily Universe compare favorably with the best I have seen,” said Carter. “They are mature and talented. They want to make a positive difference on campus and in their communities.”