Thursday, April 10, 2025
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WMUL-FM) — Students from WMUL-FM, Marshall University’s public radio station, won two first-place awards and six finalist awards in the seven categories entered in the 2024 Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Mark of Excellence Contest for Region Four. The awards were presented at the SPJ Region Four Spring Conference on Saturday, April 5, 2025, in the Levin College of Public Affairs and Education facility at Cleveland State University, 1717 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio.
Dr. Chuck G. Bailey, professor of Radio-Television Production and Management in the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Marshall University and faculty manager of WMUL-FM, said the students competed with other broadcasting students from colleges and universities in SPJ’s Region Four, which consists of West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, and western Pennsylvania.
“Our radio students have established a tradition at WMUL-FM of being able to successfully compete at the national, regional and state level with other student-operated college radio stations. WMUL-FM student broadcasters were prominently featured in all of the radio categories presented by SPJ that the radio station entered.
This performance in SPJ’s Region Four Mark of Excellence Contest is further evidence of the outstanding quality of work performed by our talented broadcasting students at WMUL-FM, the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications and Marshall University,” said Dr. Bailey.
WMUL-FM’s first-place regional radio winners will now be entered into the national awards contest along with the other eleven regional first-place winners. The national award winner will be announced in October at the National Awards Ceremony during SPJ’s 2025 Convention at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C.
Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry, works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists, and protects the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.
First Place Awards Winning Entries
Best All-Around Radio Newscast
The “5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88” broadcast Thursday, October 31, 2024. The students who participated in this newscast were:
Peyton Cisco, a sophomore from Mingo; (Producer)
Emma Johnson, a senior from Peach Creek; (Anchor)
Waylon Smith, a senior from Ashland, Kentucky: (Anchor)
Emily Grady, a freshman from Buffalo, New York; (Weather)
Nate Courtney, a junior from Fairfax, Virginia. (Sports)
Radio Sports Reporting
“Cornelius Jackson Introduced as Marshall’s 30th Men’s Basketball Head Coach,” written and announced by Ben Cower, a senior from Purcellville, broadcast Thursday, April 3, 2024, during the “5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88”.
Finalist Award Winning Entries
Radio News Reporting
“Marshall Day at the Capitol,” written and produced by Emma Johnson, a senior from Peach Creek, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88” Friday, February 2, 2024, and made available online.
Radio Feature
“Healing Appalachia,” written and produced by Emma Johnson, a senior from Peach Creek, broadcast during “The 5:00 p.m. Edition of Newscenter 88” Tuesday, September 24, 2024, and made available online.
Radio Sports Reporting
“Marshall Football versus Western Michigan Game Recap,” written and produced by Ben Anderson, a junior from Ironton, Ohio, broadcast during the Pregame Program of the Appalachian State Football Game, Saturday, October 5, 2024, and made available online.
Podcast (Conversational)
“SpeedZone: Episode 56,” an hour-long, live, weekly motorsports program, with host Ben Cower, a senior from Purcellville, Virginia, and panelists Sean Kelly, a senior from State College, Pennsylvania, and Dale Garrett, a recent graduate from Huntington. This Martinsville special episode of “SpeedZone”, featuring T.J. Layne, was broadcast Thursday, November 7, 2024, and released on SoundCloud Wednesday, November 20, 2024.
Sports Column Writing
Three columns written by Shane Darling, a freshman from Saginaw, Michigan, during the fall semester 2024 entered into this contest are:
2. “Late Game Heroics Lead to a Top Ten Ranked Draw for Herd Men’s Soccer.”
These columns were posted to the radio station’s website.
Best Affiliated Website
WMUL-FM website, www.marshall.edu/wmul, was recognized for its design, content, interactivity and use of multimedia tools during the 2024 calendar year. The WMUL-FM website was overseen by the Online Team, headed by Online Director Emma Gallus, a junior from Dinwiddie, Virginia, and team members Shane Darling, a freshman from Saginaw, Michigan, and John Boggess, a recent graduate from St. Albans.
The Society of Professional Journalists
2024 Mark of Excellence Awards, Region Four
Categories Entered by WMUL
2024 SPJ MOE Awards
First Place
Finalist
Total
Marshall University
2
6
8
Ohio University
3
2
5
Miami (Ohio) University
1
1
2
The Ohio State University
1
0
1
| 2024 SPJ MOE Awards | First Place | Finalist | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall University | 2 | 6 | 8 |
| Ohio University | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Miami (Ohio) University | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| The Ohio State University | 1 | 0 | 1 |
The results for all Region Four winners in SPJ’s Mark of Excellence Contest in the newspaper, collaborative journalism, magazines, art graphics, radio, television, online, podcast and videography areas may be found at www.spj.org/news.asp?ref=3003.
Mark of Excellence Awards entries are judged by professionals with at least three years of journalism experience. Judges were directed to choose entries they felt were among the best in student journalism. If no entry rose to the level of excellence, no award was given. Any category not listed has no winner. School divisions are based on student enrollment, including both graduate and undergraduate students: large schools have at least 10,000 students, and small schools have 9,999 or fewer students.
If there are any questions regarding the SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards, contact Manager of Publications and Awards Lou Harry lharry@spj.org or 317-927-8000 Extension 202.