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Contact: Peggy Watt, Western Washington University associate professor of Journalism, (360) 650-2338 or peggy.watt@wwu.edu

BELLINGHAM – Students from Western Washington University received awards at the Region 10 Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Spring Conference held March 30-31 at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma.

Western students won 22 of the 101 Mark of Excellence awards given to four-year college students. Many of the award-winning students are with Western’s Department of Journalism, as well as KUGS Radio Station and Huxley College of the Environment.

The eight first place award winners from Western go on to national competition; the national conference is in September in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Among those were two Western publications: best non-daily university newspaper, The Western Front, which is a publication of the Department of Journalism; and best university magazine, The Planet, which is a publication of Western’s Huxley College of the Environment.  Western students also swept two photography categories.

SPJ Region 10 includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington. This year, the contest received more than 4,000 entries across SPJ’s 12 regions. For a complete list of winners, see:

²ÝÁñÉçÇø students, awards won and hometowns are:

Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper
First Place: The Western Front (Editors: Gina Cole of Kirkland and Benjamin Woodard, of Arlington)

Best Student Magazine
First Place: The Planet (Editor: Mitch Olsen of Des Moines)

Feature Photography
First Place: “Cosmopolitan cowboy”­ by Jordan Stead, of Ballard, (published in Klipsun)

Second Place:” Parkour: the world is a playground” ­ by Erin Nash, of Leavenworth (Western Front)

Third Place: “Acid tide” ­ by Lauren Owens, of Duxbury, Mass. (Planet)

Photo Illustration
First Place: “Smashing good time”­ by Jordan Stead, (Klipsun)

Second Place: “Strategic sleuth”­ by Jordan Stead, (Klipsun)

Third Place: “Journey to the center” ­ by Jordan Stead, (Klipsun)

Breaking News Photography
Second Place: “Fire destroys waterfront homes on Swinomish land”­ by Benjamin Woodard (Skagit Valley Herald)
 

General News Photography
Third Place: “After air combat, a few precious weeks home”­ by Benjamin Woodard, (Skagit Valley Herald)
 

Sports Photography
First Place: “Northwest Collegiate Climbing Challenge” ­ by Jordan Stead, (Bellingham Herald)

Second Place: “Ski to Sea kayak finish” ­ by Jordan Stead, (Bellingham Herald)

Online Feature Reporting
First Place: “Undammed: the Elwah River story” by Lauren Owens and Heather Shupe, of Bellingham (The Planet Online; video)

Non-Fiction Magazine Article
Second Place: “Beyond the high: A fight against disease, stigma and jail” ­ by Benjamin Woodard (Klipsun)

Breaking News Reporting
Second Place: “Western stuent leaves Egypt amidst protests” ­ by Brianna Gibbs, of Kodiak, Alaska (Western Front)

General News Reporting
First Place: “Ride along with the party bus”­ by Caleb Hutton, of Silverdale, and Colin Diltz, of Mountlake Terrace (Western Front)

Second Place: “Death with Dignity Act may face amendment”­ by Evan Marczynski, of Pullman (Western Front)

Online News Reporting
Third Place: “Undammed: the Elwah River story” by Lauren Owens and Heather Shupe (The Planet Online)

Radio Feature Reporting
Second Place: “Mother of mercy” by Bethany Jo Denton, of Kalispell, Mont. (KUGS Radio)

Third Place: “Placentophagy” Jeff Emtman, of Pullman (KUGS Radio)

Radio In-depth Reporting
Second Place: “Bellingham Boo's” by Bethany Jo Denton (KUGS Radio) 

In-Depth Reporting
First Place: “Pipeline safety vs. property rights”­ by Benjamin Woodard, (Skagit Valley Herald)