UNC Charlotte Journalism Students Honored with Award

UNC Charlotte journalism students won a 2014 Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists on March 29 at the SPJ Region 2 conference held at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism. The award, “Best Independent Online Student Publication,” was given for the website created from student work for the 2014 course, “Covering Poverty in America,” conceptualized and taught by Senior Lecturer Cheryl Spainhour. Entries came from 16 colleges and universities, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Maryland and Georgetown University.

The website is a culmination of news stories, profiles, commentary, and compelling photography looking at poverty 50 years after President Lyndon B. Johnson’s declaration of “war on poverty” in his 1964 State of the Union address. Filmmaker and adjunct lecturer William S. Davis collaborated on the project, and his Community-Based Film Production class contributed film and webpage design.