Arts and Humanities General Student Life

MSU Texas student media earns 45 awards at TIPA competition

MSU Texas Public Information
04 June 2024
3 min read

Midwestern State University’s student media won 45 awards at the annual Texas Intercollegiate Press Association competition in San Marcos in April.

MSU’s student newspaper, The Wichitan, was awarded first place for overall website design, second place for overall general excellence, second place for Best of Show, third place in general design, third place in hype video, as well as an honorable mention for in the general web site category.

MSU’s literary magazine Voices was awarded second place for overall excellence.

Individual students won nine first-place awards, 15 second-place awards, eight third-place awards, and six honorable mentions.

Dr. Jim Sernoe, chair of the Mass Communication Department, said he continues to be proud of the students' accomplishments. “Our students once again competed against the best students and best programs in the state, and we were able to keep up,” Sernoe said. “Some of those programs have five times the number of students we have, yet, every year, we do just as well.”

Prof. Jonathon Quam, MSU student media adviser, said the students get something more than awards from the experience. “The awards are great, and it's incredible to watch these students grow and compete,” Quam said, “but the experience they gain from this conference and contest is invaluable.”

Dr. John Schulze, Voices adviser, said, “I'm incredibly proud of my students' work, and I'm grateful for the recognition they received.”

Those earning first-place awards included:

Grace Ainsworth, literary cover design; Anne Akpabio, general column; Javier Contreras, Hunter Doughty, and Colin Stevenson, program production/video;

Cecil Witherspoon of MSU Texas placed second in TV Sports Writing. He earned a President's Medal for Excellence at the Spring 2024 graduation.

In top group photo, from left-right, The Wichitan Editor-In-Chief Cecil Witherspoon, The Wichitan Design Editor Emily Copeland, The Wichitan Sports Editor Abby Turner, TIPA keynote speaker Teia Collier, The sophomore Mass Comm major George Svoboda, The Wichitan Business Manager Tiffany Haggard, The Wichitan Photo Editor Stephanie Garcia, The Wichitan Multimedia Editor Sam DiFiore, and College of Fine Arts Academic Recruitment Specialist Kaylor Winter-Roach.

Tiffany Haggard won second place in radio news writing at the TIPA Awards.

Javier Contreras, Ravyn Fager, Gerrant Guiste, Abigail Jones and Colin Stevenson, documentary/video; Casee Harl, yearbook design; Donovan Jackson, feature story; Rae’Dawn Rebert, in-depth reporting/video; Abby Turner, sports column; and Abby Turner, television news story.

Those earning second-place awards included:

Juliana Abril, Spanish news story; Emily Copeland, Spanish feature story; Hunter Doughty, podcast; Stephanie Garcia, sports action photo; Tiffany Haggard, radio news writing; Connor Lee, literary writing; Donovan Jackson, sports column; Alvin Runnels, Jeffrey Sanchez and Logan Spikes, documentary/video; Alexander Sinks, radio advertising; Alexander Sinks, radio announcing; Abby Turner, sports news story; Cecil Witherspoon, feature reporting/video; Cecil Witherspoon, program production/video; Cecil Witherspoon, television news writing; and Cecil Witherspoon, television sports writing.

Those earning third-place awards included:

Joey Arthur, in-depth reporting; Emily Copeland, newspaper cover design; Stephanie Garcia, sports feature photo; Shun’De Hooks, feature reporting/video; Abigail Jones, photo illustration; Marcus Morris, advertising/PSA/promo; Cecil Witherspoon, feature writing; and Cecil Witherspoon, general news story.

Those earning honorable mention awards included:

Stephanie Garcia, sports action photo; Tiffany Haggard, television advertising; Casee Harl, magazine design; Jean Marburg, literary writing.; Cecil Witherspoon, in-depth reporting/video; and Cecil Witherspoon, live news video.

TIPA is a statewide organization of journalism and mass communication programs with a membership of about 75 universities.