Taylor Journalism Student Wins Top Award

BP journalism contest draws 20 schools

By Erin Roach

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--In its ninth year, the Baptist Press Collegiate Journalism Conference drew contest entries from 20 colleges and universities as nearly 100 awards were distributed, including the President's Award for Excellence in Student Journalism.

The awards presentation, streamed online for the first time from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., Oct. 29, recognized students mostly from Baptist-affiliated schools after more than 500 of their entries were judged by nearly 20 professional journalists.

Before the presentation, students and faculty members from more than a dozen schools interacted with two featured speakers by submitting questions via Twitter.

Jennifer Rash, managing editor of The Alabama Baptist, told students that Christian journalists should excel at their work and give non-believers reason to consider the Gospel, and Gary Fong, founder of the Genesis Photo Agency, encouraged students to be prayerful in all things, because "sometimes God will have things happen before you."

In years past, Baptist Press has hosted the conference in Nashville, Tenn. In a different format this year, Union hosted the conference in its television studio and broadcast the speakers and the awards presentation online.

"Students could log on for a few hours to listen to a few top-notch professionals speak about journalism, hear and see questions by other students and faculty members, and finally, listen to and watch a presentation of nearly 100 awards of excellence," Joni Hannigan, managing editor of the Florida Baptist Witness newspaper and coordinator of the awards competition, said.

Students vied for awards in seven categories encompassing newspapers, yearbooks, photojournalism and broadcasting.

"As with each year, in this ninth year of competition, I am very thankful for the outstanding judges who give of their time to evaluate our student entries," Hannigan said. "I have seen vast improvements I know are directly linked to the valuable feedback given our entrants."

Hannah Beers, a student at Taylor University in Indiana, received the president's award this year, an honor reserved for a student who has shown sustained excellence in scholastic journalism.

Unlike the individual entries that comprise the rest of the awards competition, the president's award is based on a portfolio of work as well as academic performance, leadership and service in a school's journalism program.

The award is presented by Morris H. Chapman, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, and his selection follows a screening by a panel of five judges.

"There were several strong candidates this year, but Hannah's entry was conspicuously special," Will Hall, executive editor of Baptist Press, said. "The scope and depth of her work was impressive, her technical execution was superb and her writing was compelling. On top of that, her essay was one of the best I have read in the nine years that we have given this award."

The two-page, single-spaced essay asks the candidate to share about career goals, why he or she should receive the award and how faith plays a role in the candidate's journalism pursuits.

In her essay, Beers noted that journalism, like most professions, is flawed because it suffers from a lack of Christian influence. She referred to the Apostle Paul's confession in 1 Corinthians 2 that his message and preaching "were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

"These words, I believe, are the answers to journalism's problems," Beers wrote. "Indeed, these words are the answers to humanity's problems. As Christians and as writers, it is our responsibility to recognize the glorious gift we've been given through Christ.

"Like a great journalist uncovers corruption and indicates a need for change, a Christian thinks, speaks, writes, and lives as someone sent into the world to advocate truth," she wrote.

Upon receiving the award, Beers said the entry process was "a huge affirmation for me as I decide what it is I want to do" after graduation. She thanked one of her professors, Donna Downs, for encouraging her to seek the president's award, as well as her newspaper staff, friends and faculty who have been "a huge part of me growing as a writer."