Journalism and Mass Communications competed at the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA) in Ft. Worth last week, bringing multiple awards back to ACU.
Blane Singletary, junior electronic media major from Abilene and KACU announcer, won first in radio documentary and third in news video and an honorable mention in radio announcing. He also received second in radio production with Meagan Hernandez for his weekly show, Eye On Entertainment, which airs every Friday after the News at Noon on KACU.
“It’s certainly a year to be proud of,” Singletary said. “We always come out and do so well.”
KACU-FM, public radio station and NPR affiliate, received first place in radio sweepstakes. The win is KACU’s eighth win in 11 years. ACU defeated TCU 42-39 for the top place.
“We’ve got TIPA sweeps plaques as far back as ’99,” Singletary said. “We’ve got radio in the bag.”
Radio was not the only category ACU students had success in. students who competed in the newspaper category received four first places, two second places, four third places and four honorable mentions. The Optimist also received first place in best online community engagement.
Optimist Editor in Chief Linda Bailey won first place in information graphic and Kelsi Williamson won first place in headline, single subject and feature page design.
Bailey said she was glad her staff had the opportunity to be rewarded and honored for their hard work.
“Knowing how hard we work as a staff, I’m glad that we can be recognized for what we did,” Bailey said.
The Optimist did not place in sweepstakes after taking first last year. Texas A&M received the top spot in newspaper sweepstakes.
“I am very pleased with the awards we did win,” said Dr. Kenneth Pybus, associate professor of journalism and mass communication. “The most important thing is that we serve our audience well.”
Although the Optimist did not place in sweeps, students and staff are upbeat about the future of competing in TIPA.
“We’ve got a better shot next year,” Singletary said. “This year we know what we need to work on.”
TIPA is the oldest collegiate press association in the United States, first meeting in 1909 at Baylor University. Public and private Texas universities, from Division 1 to Division 5, compete in over 30 categories of journalistic events. ACU students competed in the Division 1 category among the likes of Texas A&M, Texas, TCU, SMU, Texas State and the University of North Texas.
