News Release

Local angles: Charlotte; Chapel Hill; Cary; North Potomac, Md.
Photos and cutlines are available online. See details below.

UNC journalism students take top national honors

CHAPEL HILL – Students in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill took top national honors in the Mark of Excellence Awards announced last week by the Society of Professional Journalists. They were chosen from more than 3,300 entries in 39 categories submitted by collegiate journalists across the United States.

Adam Rhew, a rising senior from Charlotte, was the national winner in the radio news reporting category for his story on the chemical fire at an Apex hazardous waste plant in October 2006.

The crew of the Carolina Week campus newscast was the national winner in the television newscast category. Since it first went on the air in 2000, Carolina Week has been named the top student newscast in the country 10 times by five different organizations.

“Sometimes staying on top of the mountain is harder than getting there in the first place,” said associate professor C.A. Tuggle, who directs the school’s electronic communication program and works with the students who produce Carolina Week. “Winning awards like this points out the strength of our current students, and is a testament to the solid foundation past Carolina Week news teams have laid. Our students are bright, hard working and team oriented. That’s a combination that’s hard to beat.”

Brian Allen, a rising senior from North Potomac, Md., was a finalist in the TV sports photography category for coverage of the “Late Night With Roy Williams” event kicking off the 2006-07 Carolina men’s basketball season.

Joseph Schwartz, a rising senior from Chapel Hill, and Chris Coletta of Cary, who graduated in 2006, were national finalists in the breaking news reporting category for their coverage of a student’s fatal fall from a campus residence hall window.

National winners and finalists will be recognized Oct. 5, 2007, at the society’s 2007 Convention & National Journalism Conference in Washington, D.C.

The Society of Professional Journalists promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.

Photos: For a photo of Adam Rhew, visit http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/adamrhew.jpg.

Cutline: Adam Rhew won the national Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for the top radio news report by a college journalist.

For a photo of a broadcast of Carolina Week, visit http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/students/carolinaweek.jpg.

Cutline: Students on the set of Carolina Week at the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The Society of Professional Journalists recognized the Carolina Week crew for the nation’s best collegiate television newscast.

Society of Professional Journalists Web site: www.spj.org

Society of Professional Journalists contact: Heather Porter, (317) 927-8000, ext. 204, hporter@spj.org.

School of Journalism and Mass Communication contact: Kyle York, (919) 966-3323 or skyork@email.unc.edu