Southeastern students win top SPJ awards
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
by: Tonya Lowentritt 
BEST NEWSCAST IN THE REGION - The Southeastern Channel recently won a first place Mark of Excellence Award for “Best Overall College Television Newscast” given by the Society of Professional Journalists. The honor was given for an episode of the student newscast “Northshore News,” anchored by students Ross Chauvin of Houma, left, and Alexis Genovese of Husser.
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University students at the Southeastern Channel
won four Mark of Excellence Awards, including two first-place honors, at the Society
of Professional Journalists’ annual Region 12 conference. The Mark of Excellence Awards
honor the best of collegiate journalism from a calendar year.
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Region 12 comprises all universities
in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee.
Mark of Excellence Awards were judged by SPJ industry professionals who were
directed to choose entries they felt were the best in student journalism. If no entry
rose to the level of excellence, no award was given.
The Southeastern Channel’s first-place winners included Jermaine Kelly of Shreveport,
who won first place in “Television Sports Videography” for the second year in a row
for his videography of the 2022 Riverbell Classic football game between Southeastern
and Nicholls State, and the staff of the student newscast, “Northshore News,” in the
“Best All-Around College Television Newscast” category, for its May 25, 2022 episode
of “Northshore News.”
Second-place winners, or finalists, were Kelly in the “Television Sports Reporting”
category for his same Riverbell Classic football story and Tristyn Turner of Denham
Springs, for “Television Sports Videography” for videography in his 2022 Southeastern
vs. Southern University soccer match story. The winning Southeastern Channel sports
stories both aired in the student sportscast, “The Big Game.”
It marks the seventh time in 15 years that “Northshore News” has won a first
place Mark of Excellence Award as the best student TV newscast in the region. “Northshore
News” won second place in the other eight years.
This year’s winning episode was co-anchored by Ross Chauvin of Houma and Alexis
Genovese of Husser.
“It’s an honor to win first place from such a prestigious organization,” Genovese
said. “This episode is so special to me because I’m both anchoring and reporting in
it. I’m so grateful for this award and everyone who helped me along the way.”
Genovese was also honored last year with a first place Mark of Excellence Award
for “Broadcast News Feature Videography” in her “Northshore News” story on Southeastern’s
vertebrate museum.
“I’m truly grateful for the Southeastern Channel for teaching me everything I
know and allowing me to have real world experiences while still being in college,”
Genovese said.
This year’s first place episode featured a story by Chauvin on a Ponchatoula
Strawberry Festival shooting, while reporter Carson Fryou of Ponchatoula filed a report
on how Southeastern students should prepare for an active shooter in light of recent
shootings on the Northshore.
Genovese reported on the Northshore’s blood supply crisis, while Turner produced
a story on new school lunch waivers for students in Tangipahoa Parish.
Tanner Fooshee of Jackson, La., reported on the renewal of the Tangipahoa Parish
fire protection tax. Kelly produced a package on changes to qualify for TOPS financial
aid, while Trinity Brown of Baton Rouge contributed a story about a special Mardi
Gras parade for dogs in Walker.
In its 21 years of existence, the Southeastern Channel has won over 500 national,
international and regional awards, including 24 awards from the Emmys and first place
in the nation 12 times from College Broadcasters, Inc.
The Southeastern Channel can be seen on Spectrum Cable 199 in Tangipahoa, Livingston,
St. Tammany and St. Helena parishes and on mounthermonTV.com for viewers in Washington
Parish. In addition, the live 24-7 broadcast can be seen on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon
Fire, and the channel’s website at thesoutheasternchannel.com, which also offers programs
via video on demand. The Southeastern Channel is available on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
and YouTube.
