Talon Earns 39 TIPA Awards

April 15, 2014

UT Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications

UT Tyler Patriot Talon Earns Record-Number TIPA Awards

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April 15, 2014

Media Contact: Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)

April 15, 2014

The University of Texas at Tyler Patriot Talon won a record 39 awards at the 2014 Texas Intercollegiate Press Association Conference in San Antonio, Kevin Dilley, faculty adviser and Department of Communication lecturer, announced.

Members of the student-run Patriot Talon joined more than 500 students from colleges and universities for live competitions and journalism and public relations workshops.

“The number of awards surprised me at the end of the day,” Dilley said. “Not because of the quality of my students, but because the competition is extremely tough.”

In on-site competitions, where all students compete in one division despite school enrollment and publication schedule, Patriot Talon editor in chief Morgan Jones of Chandler won first place in public relations release writing. Web editor Austin Countryman of Grand Saline won second place in magazine design, and sports editor Bryan Savens of Cedar Park won second place in TV news writing. Multimedia editor John Edward of Houston won third place in live news video. Online managing editor Lauren Barnes of Tyler received honorable mention in PR crisis management, and Jones also won honorable mention in feature photo.

UT Tyler students also submitted previously published content for award consideration in Div. III, one of five divisions. The Patriot Talon staff also received third for Overall Excellence, which recognizes quality and consistency among student publications.

The Patriot Talon placed first for Best in Show in Div. II. The Patriot PulseMagazine received honorable mention for overall excellence. Jones also received the Frank Buckley Scholarship for her staff performance.

“We won several awards in new categories such as magazine and online journalism, which is a tribute to the hard work the students have put in over the past year to make the Talon a true multi-platform news and information source,” Dilley said.

Other previously published contest – Div. II Patriot Talon staff winners were:

Countryman and Jones – First place feature story
Savens – First place sports news story
Savens – First place sports feature story
Victor Texcucano of Jacksonville – First place general news photo in Patriot Pulse Magazine
Jake Waddingham of Iowa – First place news feature story
Waddingham – First place sports feature photo
Countryman – First place information graphic
Barnes – First place single subject design
Andy Taylor of Dallas – First place page one design
Jones – Second place news story
Alec Bryant of Paris – Second place ad design
Misty Butler of Whitehouse and Nizia Alam of Tyler – Second place news feature story
Waddingham and Andy Taylor – Second place photo illustration
Waddingham – Third place feature photo general magazine in Patriot PulseMagazine
Waddingham- Third place feature story general magazine in Patriot Pulse Magazine
Texcucano – Third place sports column
Texcucano – Third place feature photo
Countryman and Jones – Honorable mention overall design general magazine for Patriot Pulse Magazine
Jones – Honorable mention illustration general magazine for Patriot Pulse Magazine
Countryman – Honorable mention page one design
Jones – Honorable mention feature page design
Samantha Copus of Diana – Honorable mention critical review
Barnes – Honorable mention opinion/editorial page design
Savens – Honorable mention sports action photo
Waddingham – Honorable mention picture story general magazine for Patriot Pulse magazine
Waddingham – Honorable mention general news photo general magazine in Patriot Pulse Magazine
Waddingham – Honorable mention sports page design
Waddingham – Honorable mention sports feature photo

The Talon staff also received second place for Best Interactivity Online – Div. II.

The Patriot Talon, the student-run media outlet at UT Tyler, is designed to inform, entertain, educate and heighten awareness of students, faculty, staff and administrators at the university.

For more information, call 903.566.7253.

One of the 15 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at UT Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 7,500 high-ability students. UT Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.