Webster Journal Earns Top Awards at MCMA Convention
April 09, 2024
Photo: Elsa Connolly, managing editor of The Journal (left) pictured with Zoe DeYoung, editor-in-chief of The Journal (right) after the MCMA convention.
The Webster Journal took home top awards in several categories at this weekend’s Missouri College Media
Association (MCMA) convention in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Journal earned first-place awards for feature writing (Zoe DeYoung and Josh Wright),
feature photography (Vanessa Jones), entertainment review (Ethan Tarantella) and political/editorial
cartoon (Ethan Meece). The Journal won 11 awards in its division overall, placing
in several categories, including newswriting, feature writing, sports column and news
website. The Journal dominated the entertainment review category, garnering first,
second and third place wins.
Editor-in-chief Zoe DeYoung along with managing editor Elsa Connolly attended the
convention to accept the awards on behalf of The Journal staff.
“I am immensely proud of the work The Journal staff has done over the past academic
year,” said DeYoung. “Our staff more than doubled in size this year, and room 116
is filled with collaboration, passion and commitment to great storytelling every Tuesday
night. It is wonderful to have our hard work acknowledged by these awards!”
Photo: Staff of the Webster Journal.
Under the supervision of faculty adviser Trish Muyco-Tobin, The Webster Journal is
having a banner year, with a record number of writers, photographers and other contributors
involved in creating digital and print content for the paper in the past year.
“I cannot say enough about our staff's creativity and drive,” said Connolly. “They
show up every week to contribute to this community in the hopes of making it better.
With each weekly issue, every writer, editor, photographer and graphic design artist
sharpens their skills. I have a feeling we will be walking away with more awards next
year. I feel honored to work with this team and learn from them. I hope this shines
a light on the work we do so we can continue to grow and expand.”
The pieces selected to receive awards at the MCMA convention were published throughout
2023. Both DeYoung and Connolly were quick to give credit to a former member of the
staff who played a large role in the award-winning articles.
“I want to give props to Joshua Wright, who served as managing editor during the fall
semester and edited each of the stories that received awards,” said DeYoung. “He was
an enormous part of improving the quality of The Journal's output.”
In addition to giving credit, they expressed gratitude – gratitude for the experience,
for Muyco-Tobin and for one another.
“Although I did not play a part in the work which received awards, I was excited to
accept awards on behalf of my peers,” shared Connolly. “It was overjoying to hear
the names of the people I have become close with. Every day I see the hard work and
talent of our staff. Having their work rewarded at this scale felt like the boost
everyone needed to push through the end of the semester.”
A full list of awards presented to The Journal can be found below:
Feature Writing: 1st Place (Zoe DeYoung, Joshua Wright)
Feature Photography: 1st Place (Vanessa Jones)
Entertainment Review: 1st Place (Ethan Tarantella)
Political/Editorial Cartoon: 1st Place (Ethan Meece)
Entertainment Review: 2nd Place (Alyssa White)
Sports Column: 2nd Place (Gabrielle Lindemann)
News Writing: 3rd Place (Zoe DeYoung)
Entertainment Review: 3rd Place (Ethan Tarantella)
Investigative Reporting: 3rd Place (Brian Rubin)
Feature Writing: Honorable Mention (Lauren Brennecke)
Website: Honorable Mention (Journal Staff)