ELLISVILLE – The Jones College student newspaper, The Radionian, once again took the General Excellence award at the annual Better Newspaper Contest for Mississippi colleges.
The General Excellence award is earned by the number of points scored during competition. The college also brought home four first place awards and nine second or third place awards.
Jaylynn Conner of Waynesboro received first place in the Best News Story category for her story on the Special Olympics. Conner also received third place in Best Use of Video for her story on PTK’s community garden project, which was featured in the student broadcast’s news show.
Farrah Jordan of State Line received both the first and second place spots for Best Sports Feature Story. First place was on the discipline and determination of soccer player Lauren Carothers, and second place was on quarterback Allan Follis, who came back from an injury.
Sheridan White of Soso received first and third place awards for the Best Feature Story category. Her first place story was on the Honors College students’ participation in the Night to Shine event, hosted by the Tim Tebow Foundation, and her third place award was for a story on Sam Larson’s experience on the survival show, “Alone.” Haley Shepherd of Petal won first place in the category of Best Feature Photo for her creative take on the Philosophy Club.
Community colleges were pitted against universities in some categories this year, including Best Sports Column, in which Ollie Hammonds of Laurel received second place, and Best Use of Social Media, in which Hammonds received third place for his podcast, “Off the Record.” All colleges competed for Best Website, and the Radionian placed third.
Other winners included Jennifer Shirley of Waynesboro, third place in Best News Story for her story on the Radionian reaching its 100th year in publication; Bryce Dupree of Bay Springs, second place in Best Feature Story for his story on Ukrainian residents who moved to Mississippi after the outbreak of war; and Kami Carter of Columbia, who received second place in Best Feature Photo for her photo of musician Carson Stanford.
The Radionian can be found at www.radionian.com, and its student broadcast can be found by searching YouTube for Jones College Bobcat Broadcast. The classes are currently accepting applications for the Fall 2024 semester. Interested students should contact the instructor at Kelly.atwood@jcjc.edu
Photo Cutline: Pictured is the spring 2024 Radionian staff, left to right, first row, sports editor Ollie Hammonds from Laurel, and editors Olivia Hennis from Raleigh, Haidyn Houston from Raleigh, and Jaylynn Conner from Waynesboro; back row, Billy “Trey” Jones from Laurel, Haley “Kat” Shepherd from Petal, Kami Carter from Columbia, Sami Jordan from Ocean Springs, Lexi Hall from Laurel, and Kaitlyn Huddleston from Laurel.