Journalism Students Win 16 Awards at TIPA Contest

First place honors awarded in multiple categories in statewide competition

Students Journalism

April 12, 2021

SMU Meadows journalism students won 16 awards, including several in overall excellence/all division categories, at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) competition in late March. The number of awards was more than double the total SMU earned in last year’s contest.

SMU Look, the fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazine written and produced by students in the Journalism/Fashion Media program, won multiple awards. SMU Look Editor Meredith Welborn was named Editor/Producer of the Year among all four-year schools. The judges wrote: “Meredith’s work is top of the line and extremely impressive. The two magazines she submitted were outstanding from cover to cover.” SMU Look magazine took home the first place award for Overall Design, and SMULook.com won best blog in the state.

Former Daily Campus Editor-in-Chief Michelle Aslam, who graduated in December, received second place for Reporter of the Year among all four-year schools; judges noted it was one of the most competitive categories, calling Aslam “a truly amazing journalist.” She also won first place for In-Depth News Audio Reporting for her story on the Black Lives Matter march at SMU, and second place for In-Depth Reporting for her story on campus sexual assault, both in the Division 1 category.

Brooklee Han’s story “No ‘Holiday Blues’ during COVID” won first place for Feature Reporting – Video in Division 1, with the judges noting, “Great video, excellent standup and superb editing.” Kevin Reynolds’ story about SMU’s first football loss at home in two years won first place for Sports Game Story in Division 1. The judges said, “This article easily had the most creative imagery and the lede was fantastic, painting a vivid image.”

Founded in 1909, TIPA represents student media – newspapers, magazines, yearbooks, radio, television and online – at two-year and four-year colleges and universities throughout Texas. It is one of the nation’s largest and most respected collegiate press associations. For more information, visit texasipa.org.

“In spite of the many extraordinary challenges of the past 12 months, our students produced outstanding journalism across multiple platforms,” said Division of Journalism Chair Tony Pederson. “They took home more than twice as many awards in this competition as in the previous year, and won in several categories that span all Texas schools. We also have many student editors and section heads who were involved in the production of these stories, but whose names do not appear on this list. This was a team effort, and we couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved.”