Two Newhouse School projects named Mark of Excellence national winners in Society of Professional Journalists’ competition

Two Newhouse School projects were named Mark of Excellence national winners in the prestigious Society of Professional Journalists’ (SPJ) 2022 Mark of Excellence Awards. The awards recognize collegiate work published or broadcast last year.

“The 5 O’Clock Project,” about Syracuse’s favorite dive bars, was named the Best Independent Online Student Publication. The project was produced by students in associate professor Adam Peruta and Professor Emerita Melissa Chessher’s multimedia storytelling class.

Patrons inside The Night Drop in Syracuse, a bar featured in “The 5 O’Clock Project.” (Photo by Jaden Chen)

Military Visual Journalism program alumni Manuel (Manny) Serrano and Averi Coppa won the Sports Videography division for “Never stand still,” a video about the Rock Steady Gym that was produced in Professor Tula Goenka‘s Documentary Production course and published on The NewsHouse.

Two people walk down a street with their backs to the camera — A screen shot from “Never stand still,” a video about the Rock Steady Gym that was published on The NewsHouse.

Both were among the 11 winners and 14 finalists in the SPJ Mark of Excellence regional competition in April.