Southeast Arrow hosts virtual MCMA Awards Ceremony, wins 18 awards

The Arrow, Southeast Missouri State University's student newspaper, won 18 awards while hosting the 2020 Missouri College Media Association (MCMA) Awards Ceremony, according to a university news release.

Originally scheduled for April 3 and 4 at Southeast, organizers and members of the MCMA executive committee shifted the two-day conference to a Facebook Live virtual awards ceremony Tuesday.

Among the Arrow's awards were four first-place awards, six second-place awards, five third-place awards and three honorable mentions.

"I believe our wins reflect our students' ability to tell stories across platforms," Tamara Zellars Buck, faculty advisor to the Arrow and multimedia journalism coordinator in Southeast's Department of Mass Media, said in the release. "Specifically, we were recognized for photojournalism; in-depth, investigative, sports and feature writing; page design; and multimedia storytelling. Our students are able to learn and practice journalism in all of its forms, and they're able to specialize their talents on a daily basis via the Arrow."

The Arrow's special report titled "Budget Breakdown" earned two first-place awards in Investigative Reporting and Special Section or Supplement. "Budget Breakdown" was a special report detailing the University's budget over the past five years, and was produced as a special project by students in the Media Management course to showcase the skills of advertising and journalism majors.

"Our 'Budget Breakdown' special report was such a huge collaborative effort, and I am so happy that we were recognized for it," Zach Tate, Arrow editor, said in the release. "There was a lot of hard work and dedication put into that, and I have to tip my hat to Dr. Buck and professor Mike Simmons. They pushed our students from day one in the fall, and without them, it's hard to say what the result would have been. They put the pressure on, and our students responded with award-winning work."

"Multiplatform promotional capacity is a mandate in today's media, and I believe our professional partnership with Rust Communications has enabled the Arrow to be a vanguard in this area," Buck said. "I'm grateful for their leadership team's assistance in mentoring our students as they engage in digital promotion and executing live events."

Among the Arrow's notable wins was a second-place Best Overall Newspaper honor. All student media organizations could compete in this category, regardless of size, by submitting one fall print issue, one spring print issue and a third issue from either semester.

MCMA awards presented to the Arrow were:

First place: Investigative Reporting: Arrow Staff, "Budget Breakdown"; Photo Page: Zach Tate, "Sikeston Jaycee Rodeo"; Feature Page: Ally Bruemmer and Lucas Irizarry, "Esmie Gonzalez: Offensively Gifted"; Special Section or Supplement: Arrow Staff, "Budget Breakdown"

Second place: Campus Engagement/Promotions: Patrick Buck Jr., Yasodh Kudarala Lekamalage and Sam Wakitsch, "What's UP SEMO?"; Best Overall Newspaper: Arrow Staff; In-Depth News Reporting: Zach Tate, "Vaping Danger Increase Across Nation"; Investigative Reporting: Zach Tate, "DPS Discovers Camera Hand-drive Issue After Parking Lot Hit and Run"; Sport Page: Lucas Irizarry, Oct. 23, 2019 Sports Section; Photo Page: Jelani Days, Intramurals

Third place: Campus Engagement/Promotions: Arrow Staff, "First Amendment Day"; News Photography: Brooke Holford, Winter Commencement 2019; Feature Photography: Jelani Days, "Campus Outreach Slip 'n' Slide at Parker Field -- April 17, 2019"; Page One Design: Zach Tate, Sept. 11, 2019 Page 1; Feature Page: Zach Tate and Christian Edwin, "The Face of Redhawks Defense"

Honorable Mention: Campus Engagement/Promotions: Arrow Staff, "Shoeboxes of Caring"; Feature Page: Brooke Holford, Toslin Taylor and Christian Edwin, "Discovering the Divine"; Multimedia Package: Lucas Irizarry and Ally Bruemmer, "Esmie Gonzalez: Offensively Gifted"