APSU’s student newspaper The All State takes home state, AP awards

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s student newspaper, The All State, was recently honored for its excellence on both the regional and state levels.

The All State earned a No. 4 in the South ranking on February 27th at the annual Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC), held February 27th-28th at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

A pair of newspaper staff members also earned individual awards in the annual “Best of the South” competition, led by reporter Sean McCully, who was ranked No. 2 in the “Best Multimedia Journalist” category.

Taylor Slifko was also honored, ranking No. 10 in the “Best Press Photography” category.

The All State staff members also competed in on-site competitions, taking home a number of individual honors, while The All State earned third place overall as a team.

Individual winners included:

• Lauren Cottle, News Writing (second place)
• Megan Endsley, News Photography (second place)
• Katelyn Clark, Page Layout (third place)
• Taylor Slifko, Sports Photography (honorable mention)

The All State competes annually with up to 44 other colleges and universities across seven states in the Southeast. This year, the competition drew over 150 student attendees, with several schools competing in 15 categories.

The All State received the same ranking in 2012 and 2014. Student newspapers at Harding University, Loyola University-New Orleans and Union University were ranked Nos. 1-3, respectively.

“These awards are a testament to the trend of excellence the staff and leaders of The All State have established in the last few years, both across Tennessee and across the Southeast,” said Jake Lowary, staff advisor of The All State. “This success affirms their body of work is just as good as any student news outlet in the region. They have continued this steady upward momentum while also developing their own personal skill sets to make them easy and quality hires when they graduate. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

APSU and The All State will play host to the SEJC in 2016. APSU last hosted the conference in 2002. The University of Alabama, Belmont University, the University of Mississippi and Vanderbilt University are among the universities that have hosted in previous years.

In addition, Lowary has been named the new president of the SEJC, replacing Georgia State University’s Bryce McNeil.

The All State was also honored as the No. 2 college website at the Tennessee Associated Press Managing Editors (TAPME) award ceremony.

Other team and individual award winners included:

• Best Specialized Topic Reporting (second place)
• Corey Adams, Best Sports Reporting (honorable mention)

Jennifer Smith, Editor-in-Chief of The All State, said she was proud of the honors her staff received, crediting “the many long nights” invested into producing an award-winning product.

“I am so proud of all of us here at The All State. We put in many long nights and work very hard for our product,” Smith said. “To receive this recognition not only shows us how hard work pays off, but it also proves to us, to our department and to the university that what we do matters.

“Journalism is powerful, important and it’s necessary. We’re always striving for improvement, but I couldn’t be happier with what we’ve done this year.”

The All State publishes each Wednesday during the academic year and is circulated on APSU’s main campus and at its satellite campuses in Springfield and Fort Campbell, KY. Readers can also find it online at www.theallstate.org .

Readers can also connect with The All State on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.