Journalism program sweeps state convention, makes history

The journalism program made memories, victories and state history this past Friday.

The Crimson Crier print and online newspaper, The Senator yearbook and Silhouette Literary Magazine dominated at the Alabama Scholastic Press Association State Convention at the University of Alabama.

“As the only paper to receive an All-Alabama ranking, I’m so proud of the staff for what we’ve done this year.The amount of work we put in this year paid off,” senior Erin Stender said.

The staffs woke before the sun to board a bus en route to Tuscaloosa. Despite being 5 a.m., almost everyone was excited to be on the way to the convention.

“I was really mad about waking up super early in the morning, but when I got on the bus, the energy changed and I was really happy to be with my friends. They are more like family,” junior Mady Harding said.

The convention was a busy one; keynote speaker Christi Parsons kicked off the competitions and hundreds of student journalists flocked to sessions taught by journalism majors, designers and seasoned reporters.

“I learned how to make my interviewing skills more effective, and I got a taste of how to be better at sports writing,” sophomore Camille Herren said. “It was inspiring to see all these professionals come out to talk to us and help us become better. They took time out of their day to come talk to us.”

The most anticipated event of the day was the awards ceremony, where students were recognized for the work they have done over the past year. The journalism program brought home 108 awards — four more than last year’s 104 awards — making state history for the second time in a row. Stender and fellow senior Savannah Bullard were awarded two of the four major senior awards, the Bailey Thomson Award for Editorial Writing and the Rick Bragg Award for Feature Writing, respectively.

“It’s pretty amazing to be recognized for all of the hard work we’ve put into this,” Stender said. “Savannah and I live and breathe journalism so winning these awards means a lot to us.”

Stender and Bullard nominated adviser Erin Coggins for the Susie DeMent Adviser of the Year award, which is awarded to an adviser who shows spectacular performance in their program. Coggins made state history when she won in a tie with Murphy High School adviser Barbara Bateman.

“We nominated Mrs. C for adviser of the year, because she honestly deserves it. As our adviser she provides much need support to our program,” Stender said. “When she won, we all stood up and cheered; that was our momma up there.”

Madison County was well-represented at the awards ceremony when Supt. Matt Massey was given the Larry Haynes Administrator of the Year Award. He was nominated by Coggins, who in her recommendation letter said he “always supports our students as they exercise their First Amendment Rights.”

“All the work Mr. Massey did with the Stand for Sparkman Initiative — welcoming my students to come actually do real, controversial reporting — needed to be acknowledged,” Coggins said. “He is the first superintendent in history to win the award, and I think that speaks volumes of our district and it can help us open policies in the future – not only for our school, but for other schools in our state.”