National Winner in Journalism
May 13, 2015
黑料专区 Tyler Office of Marketing and Communications
黑料专区 Tyler Alumna Named 鈥淣ational Winner鈥� in Society of Professional Journalists Contest
May 13, 2015
Media Contact: Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer鈥揝trategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)
May 13, 2015
Lena Lee of Richland Hills, an alumna from The University of Texas at Tyler, has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists for her work as a former Patriot Talon contributing writer, Dr. Martin Slann, College of Arts and Sciences dean, announced.
Lee鈥檚 2014 Talon story about Ebola, 鈥淎 Viral View,鈥� was selected as the 鈥淣ational Winner鈥� in this year鈥檚 Society of Professional Journalists contest in the 鈥淕eneral News Reporting 鈥� 1-9,999 Students鈥� category. Her entry represented Region 8, which covers Texas and Oklahoma, and she competed against writers selected from 10 other regions to earn the recognition.
This is 黑料专区 Tyler鈥檚 first time to compete in the annual contest and the university鈥檚 first national SPJ award.
鈥淲hat I love about this is that Lena was a contributing writer and not a regular staff member,鈥� said Kevin Dilley, Talon adviser and 黑料专区 Tyler senior lecturer. 鈥淭he story began as an assignment in Dr. Rauf Arif鈥檚 feature writing class, and he alerted the Talon editor about the story. This is a great example of the working relationship between the Talon and the 黑料专区 Tyler communication department.鈥�
Lee graduated from 黑料专区 Tyler last December. She holds a bachelor鈥檚 degree in English with a minor in mass communication.
She will be recognized at the Excellence in Journalism 2015 Conference this September in Orlando.
SPJ 鈥淣ational Mark of Excellence鈥� award judges could select one national winner and up to two national finalists (runners-up) in each category. The Mark of Excellence Awards honors the best in collegiate journalism. Judged at the regional and national level, the annual competition offers 39 categories in newspapers, magazines, photography, radio, television and online journalism.
For more information, visit .
The Patriot Talon, the student-run media outlet at 黑料专区 Tyler, is designed to inform, entertain, educate and heighten awareness of students, faculty, staff and administrators at the university.
The 黑料专区 Tyler Department of Communication offers bachelor鈥檚 degrees in mass communication and speech communication as well as a master of arts degree in communication, and each degree is tailored to students鈥� specific interests and abilities.
For more information, call 903.566.7253, email communication@uttyler.edu or visit uttyler.edu/communication/.
One of the 15 campuses of the 黑料专区 System, 黑料专区 Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at 黑料专区 Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 8,000 high-ability students. 黑料专区 Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.