MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Louisiana College Convergence Media students earned top honors at the 2019 Southeast Journalism Conference, including 1st place in TV News Reporting.
Some of the most-storied journalism programs in the South entered the competition held at
Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., Feb. 14-16. SEJC consists of journalism programs in seven states and more than 45 colleges and universities.
“Everything rises and falls on leadership,” said Louisiana College President Dr. Rick Brewer. “I am just as proud of our committed and capable Convergence Media faculty as I am of our dedicated students who plied their classroom instruction so successfully.”
In only its second year as a member of SEJC, Louisiana College submitted entries to the Best of the South Competition, which acknowledges the Top 10 students’ work from the previous year, as well as entries in the on-site competition in various areas of journalism.
Student winners include:
On-site competition:
Jamarcus Fitzpatrick and Maycee Lachney 1st place, TV News Reporting
Haleigh Lachney 1st place, Photojournalism, News/Feature
Jacob Wilson 3rd place, Radio News Reporting
Best of the South:
Alena Noakes 2nd place, Best Op/Ed Writer
Jacob Wilson 2nd place, Best Press Photographer
Brad Welborn 9th place, Best Sports Writer
“I haven’t come down from the excitement of SEJC yet,” said Dr. Elizabeth Barfoot Christian, chair of the Division of Media, Communication and Theatre and faculty adviser to Wildcats Media. “We beat the University of Mississippi. Ole Miss journalism has won Pulitzers. They are the best of the best in the South, and our TV News team placed 1st. Ole Miss was second.”
Christian said this demonstrates the importance of having a convergence media program rather than students focusing solely on one specialty. The students were able to use multiple skillsets, and it gave them the edge, she said.
She cited Jacob Wilson as a perfect example.
“Jacob wasn’t able to compete in his choice of onsite categories—sports photography—because it was full, so I put him in radio news reporting,” Christian said. “I had heard some of his radio work from a broadcast class he took with our adjunct professor Al Quartemont. Jacob placed in the top three in that category, as well as his Best of the South win for photography. Many other programs don’t train their students like this.”
Seven LC students competed in the on-site competition.
“You’re competing against all these top schools in the Southeast,” Wilson said. “It puts our name out there and makes us look good. It makes me want to yell ‘Claws Up.’”
Senior sports media major Jamarcus Fitzpatrick gave thanks to God first for his win: “It’s a blessing to know that I am not only an award-winning journalist, but it means that all my hard work has come to fruition.”
