Contest for student photojournalists

I'm looking for a photo for the cover of the second edition of The Student Newspaper Survival Guide, so I'm organizing a contest. The winner will get a $50 prize, two copies of the book -- one for the photographer and one for the student newspaper of his/her choice -- and the satisfaction of knowing he or she is inspiring the next generation of student journalists.

You can see the image from the first edition of the book here.

What I'm looking for this time around is a photo that says: STUDENT JOURNALIST AT WORK. Ideally this will be a shot of a photographer or reporter (or multiple student journalists) covering a campus news event. It could be a rally or a speech or a crime scene but it should look like a news event on a college campus. Ideally I'm looking for a horizontal, but a vertical shot might work.

I'd also consider the approach of the original cover -- a campus news event without the student journalist in the photo. In that case I would want a great shot of something that says: NEWS EVENT ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS.

It can be something that's already been shot or something that is shot for this purpose. The photo should look natural and candid -- nothing staged or posed, no smiling for the camera. It should look real.

Deadline: Nov. 15.


Please email submissions to me at kanigel at sfsu.edu.

Thanks. I look forward to seeing your entries.

Note: If no appropriate image is submitted, no prizes will be awarded.

UWire names 100 top student journalists

UWIRE, a wire service and career networking site for college journalists, has announced the UWIRE 100, a list of the top 100 student journalists in the country.

The students were selected from 500 nominations submitted by editors, professors, advisers and colleagues from 132 schools.

"We created the UWIRE 100 because we knew we would never be able to just name, say, the top 20, or crown a single student 'the journalist of the year," Ben French, UWIRE general manager, said in a statement. "Each of these candidates boasts an honor-worthy resume and portfolio, as well as the esteem of colleagues and advisers."

For each student you can view a profile page that includes a photo, quotes from recommendation letters and samples of their work. Here are some examples:

• Sean Blanda, Temple University
  
• Andrew Mangino, Yale University
  
• Jackie Alexander, University of South Carolina
  
• Scott Bell, University of Michigan
  

The UWIRE 100 students come from 66 different schools, ranging from small liberal arts colleges such as Cabrini, Loras and Hamilton to large state universities, according to a FAQ page about the process.

Among the schools represented by multiple students are the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (five), Penn State University (four), the University of Iowa (four), the University of Florida (three), Syracuse University (three), Indiana University (three) and the University of Texas-Austin (three). Fifty-nine of the students were graduating seniors and three were freshmen.

SPJ announces student awards

The Society of Professional Journalists has announced the national winners of the 2007 Mark of Excellence Awards. This year, collegiate journalists submitted more than 3,400 entries in 39 categories.

“I encourage media executives who are looking for the next wave of high-quality journalists to pay attention to the winners of SPJ’s Mark of Excellence Awards,” Neil Ralston, SPJ’s vice president for campus chapter affairs, said in a news release. “These young men and women represent some of the best that journalism programs have to offer, and we’re proud to be able to honor them at the national level.”

National winners were previously recognized by receiving first place in one of the Society’s 12 regional competitions. A complete list of winners and finalists can be found here.

National winners and finalists will be recognized Friday Sept. 5 at the Mark of Excellence Luncheon, during the 2008 SPJ Convention & National Journalism Conference at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.