The Alestle staff recently won eight awards during the Illinois College Press Association’s (ICPA) annual college media conference. The event was in Chicago Feb. 21-22.
The Alestle won second place for general excellence, a category in which the staff had not placed since 2009.
“It was exciting to see The Alestle recognized in all the categories in which they were honored, but especially in the in-depth reporting and general excellence categories,” Alestle Program Director Tammy Merrett-Murry said. “It’s a testament to the seriousness in which the staff approaches its work.”
Lifestyles Editor Karen Martin and Online Editor Ben Ostermeier shared second place for in-depth reporting for their series on campus wildlife, published last summer.
Copy Editor John Layton won a second-place award for headline writing.
Former Sports Editor Roger Starkey earned second place for sports news story for his reporting on former wrestling head coach David Ray’s resignation.
Former Editor-in-Chief Michelle Beard received a second-place award for an editorial cartoon she designed on the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees members’ ongoing disagreements last year.
The Alestle’s recent lifestyles series, “Metro East Eats,” was a third-place finisher in the entertainment supplement category.
Layton and former photographer Andrew Rathnow both received honorable mentions for news story and sports photo, respectively.
The entries in the competition were judged for excellence by members of the Illinois Press Association, as well as other working journalists in Missouri and across the country.
The Alestle competes nationally against many other newspapers from across the country. Statewide, The Alestle competes regularly against such student newspapers and schools as the Bradley Scout at Bradley University, Chicago Weekly at the University of Chicago, the Columbia Chronicle at Columbia College, DePaulia at DePaul University, Chicago Flame at the University of Illinois-Chicago, The Journal at University of Illinois-Springfield, the Loyola Phoenix at Loyola University and The Independent at Northeastern Illinois University.
For more information about The Alestle, contact Tammy Merrett-Murry at tmerret@siue.edu or (618)-650-3597.