The Mesquite Online News - Texas A&M University-San Antonio

SPJ awards student journalists at national MOE awards

SPJ awards student journalists at national MOE awards - The Mesquite Online News - Texas A&M University-San Antonio

Medical assistant Yadira Ramos, 42, arrives home from work and greets her daughter Allison, 12, with a hug on April 7, 2020. As a result of COVID-19 and school closures, Ramos became her daughter’s homeschool teacher while on the front line of the pandemic. This photo won the national MOE award for COVID-19: Digital still photography in the small school division. Photo by Victoria Martinez

The Society of Professional Journalists awarded three student journalists from The Mesquite with national and regional 2020 Mark of Excellence Awards.

Victoria Martinez, photo editor for The Mesquite in fall 2019 and spring 2020, won the national MOE award for COVID-19: Digital Still Photography in the small school division. The story “Off the clock for COVID-19” featured Martinez’s award winning photo.

Maegan Mendoza, multimedia editor in spring 2020 and photo editor in fall 2020 and spring 2021, was a finalist for the national MOE award for feature photography in the small school division for the photo story “University steps into Black History.”

The Society of Professional Journalists MOE awards recognize the work of collegiate student journalists. Categories include print, online, television and radio. At this year’s MOE awards, a new category for work related to COVID-19 was included. 

Awards are categorized both nationally and regionally. Schools with less than 10,000 students enrolled are classified as small school divisions. 

SPJ announced the national winners June 3 on their website. 

Judges base on a criteria that considers insight, accuracy and consistency to journalistic standards among other things.

SPJ also awarded three members of The Mesquite in the Region 8 category, which comprises Oklahoma and Texas. The winners were announced April 13 on the SPJ website. 

Martinez won the MOE award for the same photo story in the COVID-19 category Digital (Still) Photography, and spring 2021 assistant editor and fall 2021 managing editor Daisy Gonzalez-Quezada won the MOE award for Newspaper, Magazine and Online Coverage ㅡboth in the small school division. Gonzalez-Quezada’s won for her story Rising xenophobia during pandemic.”

Mendoza was awarded a MOE award for feature photography in the small school division for her story “University steps into Black History.”

Kathryn Jones, SPJ Region 8 coordinator, said collegiate journalism is essential. 

“Campus newspapers cover their own communities,” Jones said. “If it weren’t for student journalists, many times students and professors wouldn’t know what’s going on in their campus.”

Jones said she hopes that the MOE awards encourage college journalists and reminds them that they have a support system. 

“(Journalists) have a community out there of like-minded people who will support them through thick and thin, have their backs and nurture their careers,” she said.

First-place national winners will be recognized at the annual Student Summit event Sept. 2-4 in New Orleans. Registration to attend the event virtually is available at https://www.spj.org/convention-faq.asp 

For more information and a complete list of national and regional winners, visit https://www.spj.org/a-moe.asp 

About the Author

Asiah Mendoza
Assistant Editor
Asiah Mendoza is a communications junior with a minor in psychology. Born and raised in San Antonio, she enjoys writing and listening to music in her free time. Her favorite things to do are go to concerts and discover new artists. After graduation, she hopes to combine her two interests and become a music journalist.

Join the Conversation

© 2024 Jaguar Student Media | Texas A&M University-San Antonio. All Rights Reserved. All Rights Reserved.
San Antonio Website Design & Development - Backyard Studios
Join Our Newsletter

Get the Mesquite News delivered straight to you.