RMU Sentry Media students won 17 national awards — including four first place awards for best internet radio, TV sports package, sports column, and cartoon strip or panel — in this year’s Society for Collegiate Journalists national contest for student publications and broadcasting. The total was the highest in history for the RMU chapter, which was named SCJ Chapter of the Year in 2016.

“Every single day you’ll find our communication and media arts students in the newsroom, the radio station, or the television studio practicing their craft,” said Carrie Moniot, a former WPXI- TV news executive producer and advisor for RMU Sentry Media. “They’re taking what they have learned in their classrooms and experienced in their internships or other professional settings and applying those skills.”

RMU Sentry Media is a converged, student-run media outlet that publishes feature stories and news articles, hosts radio talk shows and music specials, and produces television and video broadcasts from its studio on campus.

RMU Radio won for Internet Radio Overall Excellence, with judges noting its excellent coverage of events and its community involvement, with shows such as “Bringing the Blues to RMU” which highlighted local blues musicians.

Zach Laufer and RMU-TV won the top award for Television Sports Package for their “Hockey at Heinz” coverage of the Colonials hockey team playing at Heinz Field during the NHL Winter Classic. Logan Carney won in the Sports Columns category for “The State of Robert Morris Football.” Tori Flick won the top prize for Cartoon Strips and Panels for “10 or More Reasons to Follow RMU Sentry Media.”

"It was truly an honor to hear that all of the hardworking producers have been recognized for their work,” said RMU Radio program director Malyk Johnson. “I'm always excited to listen to the ideas of our producers and grow RMU radio from their feedback. The award was a team effort."

Second place chapter awards recognized Sentry Media for Online News Website Overall Excellence and RMU-TV for Television News Show Overall Excellence. Other individual awards recognized students for their work in photography, graphic illustrations, sports columns, and multimedia features.

“This is an incredible honor for our students, and it reflects the commitment of the faculty and the staff at the Academic Media Center to prepare students for 21 st century careers,” said AnnMarie LeBlanc, dean of the RMU School of Communications and Information Systems.

CHAPTER AWARDS:

• RMU Radio, First Place, Internet Radio Overall Excellence
• RMU Sentry Media, Second Place, Online News Website Overall Excellence
• RMU-TV Staff, Second Place, Television News Show Overall Excellence

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:

• Logan Carney, First Place, Sports Columns
• Tori Flick, First Place Cartoon Strips and Panels
• Zach Laufer and RMU-TV, First Place, Television Sports Package
• Megan Shandel, Second Place, Cartoon Strips and Panels
• Brittany Mayer and Katey Ladika, Third Place, Multimedia News Story
• Samuel Anthony, Morgan Torchia & Mike Evans, Third Place, Multimedia Feature Story
• Samuel Anthony, Morgan Torchia & Mike Evans, Third Place, Multimedia Sports Story
• Morgan Torchia, Third Place, Photo Slideshow
• Katey Ladika, Third Place, Sports Photography
• Gage McCall, Third Place, Cartoon Strips and Panels
• Tori Flick, Third Place, Graphic Illustrations
• Maura Linehan & Katey Ladika, Honorable Mention Features
• Logan Carney, Honorable Mention Sports Columns
• Tori Flick, Honorable Mention Graphic Illustrations