Mississippi State University’s student newspaper, The Reflector, swept the recent Mississippi Press Association (MPA) convention in Natchez, taking 13 of 18 first-place prizes.
The Reflector, published twice weekly, took first place overall for Best Layout and Design as well as General Excellence. MPA officials said the paper had a “nice, clean design with good reproduction and photos.”
“This paper does a very good job of telling its students what’s going on on campus from homecoming courts to criminal activity. Its layout is clean and inviting. Its ads are professional looking. [The Reflector] is interesting to read even to someone who is not part of student life there,” they continued.
Duane Gordon, Reflector staff writer, took home both first and second place awards in the Best Spot News Story category for his stories “Manning convicted” and “Miss MSU: Dallas a done deal,” respectively.
Gordon also received Best Spot News or Investigative News Package with then-assistant news editor Bryant Adkins for the series they wrote on the Miss MSU election controversy.
The Reflector also received two awards in the Best General News Story category with Gordon winning third place for a story on last year’s homecoming election and staff writer Bonnie Allen receiving an honorable mention for a story on Mitchell Memorial Library.
In sports categories, last year’s sports editor Sam Cammack won first place in Best Sports Column for “West Coast still focusing” and second place in Best Sports News Story for “466 Yards! Taite Airs out Tulane.”
Sports writer Stephen Graddy received two first place prizes, one in Best Sports News Story for “Bulldogs dominate Arkansas” and another in Best Sports Feature for “Family important for MSU’s Easley Sisters.”
Graddy also received a third place award in the latter category for “Texas Connection: a winning combination for MSU volleyball squad.” Staff writer Heath Shackleford also received an honorable mention in that category.
The first place award for Best General Interest Column went to Terri Tabor, 1994-95 Reflector editor. MPA officials said that her writing contained “great ideas, good variety” and that her “columns flow very well.”
“It was an overwhelming honor to take so many first-place prizes,” Tabor said, “It shows how well everyone cooperated and what a great staff we had. I’m very happy to have had the opportunity to serve as editor.”
Then-staff writer Amy Leigh Hutchison picked up a third place award as well as an honorable mention in the Best Feature Story category, one for discussing an HIV-infected speaker’s presentation and another on roommates.
Robert Stringer, editorial cartoonist for The Reflector, won first and third place awards for Best Cartoon, the first prize going to a depiction of Newt Gingrich and Connie Chung.
Wesley Ellis, photography editor of The Reflector in 1994, won first, second and third place awards for Best Sports Photographs, including one of a loose ball at an MUW game.
Reflector photographer Chad Kelly took second place in Best General News Photo for a picture titled “Take a few minutes.”
Jason Tiffin, who served as photography editor last semester, received a first-place for Best Feature Photograph titled “We are the Champions,” as well as second place in Best Spot News Photograph for “Welcome Home Kiss.”
Reflector columnist C. Lawrence Cosper earned a third a third place prize for Best Editorials when he claimed that “college newspapers are for learning.”
The Reflector’s advertising department also took all five advertising awards, receiving first and second place awards in Best Single Retail Ad for Reflector-designed ads for Golden Scissors and a third place award in that category for a Reflector-designed ad for Nails, Etc.
The department also received the first and second-place awards for Best Miscellaneous Ad for advertisements for campus housing and Valentine’s Day. Last year, The Reflector won only four first-place awards.
