Delta State journalism majors Casey Greene and Elisabetta Zengaro show off the first place award for The Delta Statement website (www.thedeltastatement.com), one of 11 prizes awarded to the student paper in the 2013-14 Better Newspaper Contest announced at the 16th annual O.C. McDavid Journalism Conference in Jackson on March 27. The website for The Delta Statement — the campus newspaper for Delta State University — has been named “Best University Website” for the state of Mississippi. The competition was judged by professional journalists of the Mississippi Press Association.
The student-run website (www.thedeltastatement.com) edged out competitors from some of the state’s largest universities, including Mississippi State and the University of Southern Mississippi.
Elisabetta Zengaro, Statement editor-in-chief, and Casey Greene, Statement online editor in the fall of 2013, accepted the award, along with 10 other state honors at the 16th annual O.C. McDavid Journalism Conference in Jackson on March 27.
“The website provides a user-friendly way for readers out of state or overseas to follow what we do on a daily basis,” said Zengaro.
The interactive website features a Twitter feed, access to Delta State athletics, access to The New York Times and daily weather information. Slideshows featuring the work of The Delta Statement photographers play automatically or can be viewed full screen.
Awards for the Statement print edition included recognition for general excellence, front page design, opinion columns, sports coverage, features and advertising.
Zengaro, a Cleveland resident, won second place in the “Best Sports Photo” category for her shot of football player Tyler Sullivan. Zengaro shared a second place award for front page design with recent Delta State graduate Kevin Pearson, a journalism major who is now a newspaper page designer in Glens Falls, N.Y.
Zengaro’s column on the advantages of Delta State’s student-friendly class sizes was named third in the “Best General Interest Column” category. Zengaro also won third place in “Best News Sports Story” for her coverage of Lady Statesmen basketball.
Recent Delta State graduate Florian Mondoloni, a journalism major from France, won third place in the “Best Sports Column” category for his column on tennis player Serena Williams.
Journalism major Casey Greene’s feature story on Dr. Stephen King, Delta State professor of communications, placed third in the “Best Feature” category. Greene’s feature on the legendary baseball coach Boo Ferriss also won an honorable mention in the “Best Sports Feature” category.
Recent graduate Rachel Bush, an art major, won third place in the “Best Miscellaneous Advertisement” category. Bush is now a graphic designer at The Cleveland Current.
Journalism major Declan Harrick, a native of Australia, won honorable mention in “Best Feature Story” for his story on Delta State alumnus Hugh Ellis Walker. The Delta Statement also won honorable mention in the “General Excellence” category.
“The university can be proud of the excellence of our relatively small journalism program, which is reflected in consistent high quality of The Delta Statement and www.thedeltastatement.com,” said journalism program coordinator Patricia Roberts.
Roberts is an associate professor of journalism and adviser to The Delta Statement.
