Top of the Rockies and Region 9 conference 2018 overview

Society of Professional Journalists Region 9 winners and finalists in the Mark of Excellence contest were announced April 21, 2018 at the Excellence in the Rockies conference on the Auraria campus in Denver.

The 2017 contest for collegiate journalists in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Wyoming attracted 359 entries, an increase over the 253 entries the previous year. Certificates for the 119 winners and finalists were distributed at the April 21 MOE awards luncheon.

The list of Region 9 winners and finalists is posted here: Judging_result_vertical2111174542(2018-03-14).

Schools represented by winners/finalists:

Adams State University, Arapahoe Community College, Brigham Young University, Colorado College, Community College of Denver, Colorado Mesa University, Colorado State University-Fort Collins, Colorado State University-Pueblo, Laramie County Community College, Metropolitan State University-Denver, New Mexico State University, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of New Mexico, University of Utah, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, and Weber State University.

One hundred and five students, faculty and professional journalists plus more than two dozen speakers attended the two-day conference, which began April 20 with half-day sessions on Facebook and Google training.

Jiaxi Shen talks to the audience about various websites and tools to assist in learning HTML.

Allan Tellis smiles as he speaks to the audience and introduces HTML panelists.

Rachael Worthington prepares to introduce Mark of Excellence winners.

Eventgoers take their places in line to eat lunch as Mark of Excellence award winners are presented.

Erin Douglas (right) discusses her experience with public records as Tom Kelley listen to her speak.

Members of the audience take notes and listen as panelists discuss their experience with public records.

Paper work is checked as an audience begins to file in for the Reporting on Sexual Harassment panel.

Bente Birkeland (right) shares stories with the audience on her experience in covering sexual harassment as Corey Hutchins (left) and Marianne Goodland listen.

Nathaniel Minor discusses methods for an effective podcast and how to build an audience.

Rachel Estabrook speaks to audience members about how The Taxman podcast came to be and the amount of work that went in to each episode.

Audience members take notes during the Facebook training session.

Dan Petty describes different search functions for Google and how it can find deleted tweets.

Conference sponsors included the Metropolitan State University of Denver Department of Journalism and Technical Communication, the Univeristy of Colorado-Boulder College of Media, Communication and Information, Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, Rio Grande SPJ Pro Chapter, Utah Headliners SPJ Pro Chapter, and the journalism/mass communication departments at Colorado State University-Pueblo, University of Northern Colorado and Colorado State University-Fort Collins.

Reporting on Sexual Harassment was the first session on April 21 at the SPJ Region 9 Excellence in the Rockies conference on the Auraria campus in Denver. From left: Moderator Corey Hutchins of the Columbia Journalism Review, Colorado Politics chief legislative reporter Marianne Goodland, KUNC public radio capitol reporter Bente Birkeland, KUNC news director Michael de Yoanna, Arapahoe Community College The Arapahoe Pinnacle managing editor Emily Langenberg. (Photo by Justine Suzanne Johnson)

Freelance journalists Julian Rubinstein, left, Rachel Sturtz and Steve Knopper discuss the various stories they’ve had published in national publications at the April 21 Freelancing 101 session.(Photo by Justine Suzanne Johnson)

From left: Ashley Schaerfl of Colorado State University-Pueblo, Auraria SPJ Chapter members Rebecca Ramos and Desiree Gillespie, and Fort Collins Coloradoan reporter Kelly Ragan discuss challenges they’ve faced at the April 21 Campus Coverage Roundtable. (Photo by Justine Suzanne Johnson)

The SPJ Colorado Pro chapter thanks the following for their support of and work on the conference:

–Shaun Schafer, chair, Metropolitan State University of Denver Journalism and Technical Communication Department
–Kristi Strother, journalism chair, Community College of Denver
Auraria Campus SPJ Chapter members:
–Angel Rivera
–Kaitlin Quinn
–Desiree Gillespie
–Claudia Tena Guzman
–Jonathan Hidalgo
–Justine Johnson
–Alexandra Gaddison
–Rebecca Ramos
–Todd Smith
–Veronica Holyfield
–Krystn Powers