The Arkansas SPJ will vote on its 2021 Board of Directors at the Annual Membership Meeting at 6 p.m. Friday, June 18. The board currently has one open position. Email a bio and headshot spjsarahdeclerk@gmail.com for more information. View the candidates below.
2021 Diamond Journalism Awards Ceremony
Winners of the 2021 Diamond Journalism Awards will be announced in an online ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. June 18. Watch this space and social media for more details as the day gets closer.
Sponsored by the Arkansas Pro Chapter, Society of Professional Journalists, the Diamond Journalism Awards is a regional competition that recognizes outstanding journalism by professionals and students from Arkansas and bordering states.
Winners in more than 75 categories as well as the Diamond Journalist of the Year, the Outstanding New Journalist, and the Robert S. McCord FOI Award will be announced at the upcoming a virtual awards ceremony. Winners of the Public Service Award, Journalist of the Year, Outstanding New Journalist, and the Robert S. McCord FOI Award receive an acrylic diamond-shaped paperweight.
This year’s contest honors work published or broadcast in 2020, drew a record 393 entries and was judged by members of the Cincinnati Pro Chapter of SPJ.
Here are the finalists listed by the publication or other outlet where their entries appeared:
ABOUT the River Valley Magazine, Russellville, Ark.
Johnny Carrol Sain, Hannah Butler, Kenzie Sain
Arkansas Catholic, Little Rock
Dwain Hebda
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock
Stephen Simpson, Williams Sanders, Jeannie Roberts, Joseph Flaherty, Thomas Metthe, Stephen Swofford, Staton Breidenthal, Yutao Chen, Maggie McNeary, Carrie Hill, Justin Cunningham, Stan Denman, Brian Smith, Joe Luciano, Tony Holt, Ginny Monk, Kat Stromquist, Bill Bowden, Terry Austin, David Barham, Walter Hussman, Philip Martin, Morgan Acuff, Sarah DeClerk, Dwain Hebda, Democrat-Gazette staff
ADG River Valley and Ozark Edition, Little Rock
Tammy Keith
Arkansas Money & Politics, Little Rock
Tyler Hale, Mark Carter, Evin Demirel, Rebecca Robertson
Arkansas Nonprofit News Network, Little Rock
Dwain Hebda
The Associated Press, Little Rock
Andrew DeMillo
AY Magazine, Little Rock
Dustin Jayroe, Rebecca Robertson, Jamison Mosley, Lora Puls, Heather Baker, Ebony Blevins, Jamison Mosley, Ian Lyle, Dwain Hebda
The Batesville Guard, Arkansas
Bruce Guthrie
Baxter Regional Pulse, Arkansas
Sarah Knight
Curbside Chronicle, Oklahoma City
Mollie Bryant, Nathan Poppe, Miguel Rios, George Lang, Nazarene Harris, Jacquelyn Walsh, Sydni Nasada, Ryan Magnani, Joshua Boydston, Jayna Hadwiger, Ben Felder, Kassie McClung, Nate Ward, Katrina Ward
The Daily Citizen, Searcy, AR
Greg Geary
The Daily Record, Little Rock
Dwain Hebda
Do South Magazine
Dwain Hebda
FOX16 News, Little Rock
Kevin Kelly
Houston Business Journal, Texas
Jeff Jeffrey, Chris Mathews, Margaret Barrientos, Sara Samora, Laura Gillespie, Shafaq Patel, Giselle Greenwood
Jackson Free Press, Mississippi
Nick Judin, Kayode Crown, Donna Ladd
KATC-TV, Lafayette, La.
Andrew Clay, Staff
KOLR-TV, Springfield, Mo.
Brian Calfano, Lissa Hamblen
KPEJ-TV, Midland-Odessa, Texas
Monica Quintero
KUAR-FM
Anna Stitt, Daniel Breen, Sarah Kellogg, Alexandria Brown
KWTX-TV, Waco
Rosemond Crown, Gordon Collier, Clint Webb, Megan Vanselow, Drake Lawson, Bill Gowdy
KXAN-TV, Austin, Texas
Alex Caprariello
Leader Newspaper, Jacksonville, Ark.
Rick Kron
Louisiana College, Pineville
Elizabeth Christian
Mississippi Free Press, Jackson
Ashton Pittman, William Pittman, Christian Middleton, Donna Ladd, Aliyah Veal, Mauricio J. Quijano
Politico, Arlington, Va.
Bret Schulte
Richmond News, Missouri
Jack “Miles” Ventimiglia
Riverfront Times, St. Louis
Danny Wicentowski
Texas Observer, Austin
Amal Ahmed, Chris O’Connell, Savannah Maher
The Trucker, Little Rock
Wendy Miller, Linda Garner-Bunch, Lyndon Finney, Sam Pierce, The Trucker Editorial Staff
WVLT-TV, Knoxville
Ashley Bohle, Brittany Tarwater, Keith Smith, WVLT Staff
STUDENT MEDIA
Louisiana State University (Reveille, LSU Tiger TV, LSU Manship News Service, KLSU-FM) Baton Rouge
Katherine Manuel, Anna Jones, Bailey Williams, Alyssa Berry, Matthew Clark, Sydney McGovern, Karli Carpenter, Kendall Duncan, Ally Kadlubar, Caleb Greene, Bailey Chauvin, Reed Darcey, Jared Brodtmann, Luke Chevalier, Marie Plunkett, Evan Leonhard, Cecile Girard, Sofia McKentry
Louisiana College, Wildcats Media, Pineville
Alena Noakes, Joel Thompson, Aaron Quartemont
Arkansas State University, Delta Digital News Service, Jonesboro
Christine Miyawa, Tristan Bennett, Krishnan Collins, Chase Gage
University of Central Arkansas, The Echo, Conway
Ronak Patel, Lauren McLemore, Morgan Jenkins, Delaney Van Wilpe, Elvira Toddy, Megan Holder
The Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists takes pride in announcing the finalists for the 2021 Diamond Journalism Awards, a regional competition that recognizes outstanding journalism by professionals and students from Arkansas and bordering states.
Winners in more than 75 categories as well as the Diamond Journalist of the Year, the Outstanding New Journalist , and the Robert McCord FOI Award will be announced at a virtual awards ceremony on June 30. More details coming soon.
This year’s contest honors work published or broadcast in 2020, drew a record 393 entries and was judged by members of the Cincinnati Pro Chapter of SPJ.
Here are the finalists listed by the publication or other outlet in which their entries appeared:
ABOUT the River Valley Magazine, Russellville, Ark.
Johnny Carrol Sain, Hannah Butler, Kenzie Sain
Arkansas Catholic
Dwain Hebda
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock
Stephen Simpson, Williams Sanders, Jeannie Roberts, Joseph Flaherty, Thomas Metthe, Stephen Swofford, Staton Breidenthal, Yutao Chen, Maggie McNeary, Carrie Hill, Justin Cunningham, Stan Denman, Brian Smith, Joe Luciano, Tony Holt, Ginny Monk, Kat Stromquist, Bill Bowden, Terry Austin, David Barham, Walter Hussman, Philip Martin, Morgan Acuff, Sarah DeClerk, Dwain Hebda, Democrat-Gazette staff
ADG River Valley and Ozark Edition, Little Rock
Tammy Keith
Arkansas Money & Politics, Little Rock
Tyler Hale, Mark Carter, Evin Demirel, Rebecca Robertson
Arkansas Nonprofit News Network, Little Rock
Dwain Hebda
The Associated Press, Little Rock
Andrew DeMillo
AY Magazine, Little Rock
Dustin Jayroe, Rebecca Robertson, Jamison Mosley, Lora Puls, Heather Baker, Ebony Blevins, Jamison Mosley, Ian Lyle, Dwain Hebda
The Batesville Guard, Arkansas
Bruce Guthrie
Baxter Regional Pulse, Arkansas
Sarah Knight
Curbside Chronicle, Oklahoma City
Mollie Bryant, Nathan Poppe, Miguel Rios, George Lang, Nazarene Harris, Jacquelyn Walsh, Sydni Nasada, Ryan Magnani, Joshua Boydston, Jayna Hadwiger, Ben Felder, Kassie McClung, Nate Ward, Katrina Ward
The Daily Citizen, Searcy, AR
Greg Geary
The Daily Record, Little Rock
Dwain Hebda
Do South Magazine
Dwain Hebda
FOX16 News, Little Rock
Kevin Kelly
Houston Business Journal, Texas
Jeff Jeffrey, Chris Mathews, Margaret Barrientos, Sara Samora, Laura Gillespie, Shafaq Patel, Giselle Greenwood
Jackson Free Press, Mississippi
Nick Judin, Kayode Crown, Donna Ladd
KATC-TV, Lafayette, La.
Andrew Clay, Staff
KOLR-TV, Springfield, Mo.
Brian Calfano, Lissa Hamblen
KPEJ-TV, Midland-Odessa, Texas
Monica Quintero
KUAR-FM
Anna Stitt, Daniel Breen, Sarah Kellogg, Alexandria Brown
KWTX-TV, Waco
Rosemond Crown, Gordon Collier, Clint Webb, Megan Vanselow, Drake Lawson, Bill Gowdy
KXAN-TV, Austin, Texas
Alex Caprariello
Leader Newspaper, Jacksonville, Ark.
Rick Kron
Louisiana College, Pineville
Elizabeth Christian
Mississippi Free Press, Jackson
Ashton Pittman, William Pittman, Christian Middleton, Donn Ladd, Aliyah Veal, Mauricio J. Quijano
Politico, Arlington, Va.
Bret Schulte
Richmond News, Missouri
Jack “Miles” Ventimiglia
Riverfront Times, St. Louis
Danny Wicentowski
Texas Observer, Austin
Amal Ahmed, Chris O’Connell, Savannah Maher
The Trucker, Little Rock
Wendy Miller, Linda Garner-Bunch, Lyndon Finney, Sam Pierce, The Trucker Editorial Staff
WVLT-TV, Knoxville
Ashley Bohle, Brittany Tarwater, Keith Smith, WVLT Staff
STUDENT MEDIA
Louisiana State University (Reveille, LSU Tiger TV, LSU Manship News Service, KLSU-FM) Baton Rouge
Katherine Manuel, Anna Jones, Bailey Williams, Alyssa Berry, Matthew Clark, Sydney McGovern, Karli Carpenter, Kendall Duncan, Ally Kadlubar, Caleb Greene, Bailey Chauvin, Reed Darcey, Jared Brodtmann, Luke Chevalier, Marie Plunkett, Evan Leonhard, Cecile Girard, Sofia McKentry
Louisiana College, Wildcats Media, Pineville
Alena Noakes, Joel Thompson, Aaron Quartemont
Arkansas State University, Delta Digital News Service, Jonesboro
Christine Miyawa, Tristan Bennett, Krishnan Collins, Chase Gage
University of Central Arkansas, The Echo, Conway
Ronak Patel, Lauren McLemore, Morgan Jenkins, Delaney Van Wilpe, Elvira Toddy, Megan Holder
Society of Professional Journalists | Arkansas Pro Chapter 