16 Apr 2021 CBC Tower Media wins 43 awards in state journalism contest

Central Baptist College’s Tower Media student journalism staffs won a combined 43 awards from the Arkansas College Media Association on April 9, including junior Mallory Sullivan being named Photographer of the Year.

Ten colleges and universities in Arkansas submitted work from 2020 for the competition. 

“The Tower Media staffs never cease to amaze me,” said Ann Gardner, faculty adviser and communication department chair. “Even with the challenges of COVID-19, our students continued to provide coverage of what was happening on campus. We had a core group of staff members who worked hard, and the effort shows with these awards.”

A judge said Sullivan’s photography included “a strong portfolio with a nice mix of action and portraits.” A Communication Major, Sullivan is pursuing a concentration in Photojournalism and has won Gallery X competitions, a CBC student competition sponsored by the Communication Department each semester. 

“Mallory has been a real blessing for Tower Media,” said Gardner. “She came into our program taking great photos, and she continues to improve each semester. She is very deserving of being named Photographer of the Year.”

The 2020 Carillon received third place in the Yearbook of the Year category. The Tower was named honorable mention for Newspaper of the Year.

“We’re the smallest college that competes in ACMA, but we continue to do well in newspaper, web, photography and yearbook categories,” said Gardner. “I’m looking forward to see what other categories we will excel in next year.”

CBC General Excellence Winners

• Photographer of the Year – First place, Mallory Sullivan, Central Baptist College, Tower Media
• Yearbook of the Year – Third place, the 2020 CBC Carillon, Jocelyn Waters and Coby Harvison, co-editors
• Newspaper of the Year – Honorable mention, the Tower, Central Baptist College, Emilee Brown, Jocelyn Waters and Rachel Burns, co-editors

Individual awards went to:

2020 Carillon yearbook

• Cover –  Jocelyn Waters and Coby Harvison, honorable mention
• Closing – Jocelyn Waters and Coby Harvison, third place 
• Divider – “Six Feet Apart,” Jocelyn Waters and Coby Harvison, honorable mention
• Introduction/Theme – Jocelyn Waters and Coby Harvison, third place
• Feature Layout – “Senior Direction,” Jocelyn Waters and Coby Harvison, second place
• Student Life Layout – “Harvesting Memories,” Jocelyn Waters, first place; “Read All About It,” Jocelyn Waters, third place
• Sports Layout – “See You in Court,” Jocelyn Waters, first place
• Typographic Presentation – “Strange Semester,” Carillon staff, first place; “Stuck At Home,” Carillon staff, honorable mention
• Art/Illustration – “Life Upside Down,” Carillon staff, honorable mention
• Sports Photo – “Scream and Shout,” Marcela Bueno, second place
• Student Life Photo – “Praise His Name,” Sydney Hawkins, second place

Tower Web

• Breaking News – “Campus Prepares for Online Classes,” Kat Carson, honorable mention
• Election/Political – “Seeing Blue,” Kat Carson, first place
• Personality Profile – “Jesus Over Baseball,” Emma Reddin, second place
• Editorial/Commentary – “Can 36 Questions Lead to Love?” Kat Carson, second place; “An Open Letter to COVID-19,” Jessica Sawyer, honorable mention
• Reviews-Arts/Entertainment – “The Social Dilemma,” Josh Burns, second place; “The Invisible Man,” Kat Carson, third place
• Headlines – “Pondering podcasts: Mornings are best met with murder,” Kat Carson and Rachel Burns, first place; “An Insight in Isolation,” Kat Carson, second place
• Feature Photo – “Lindsey Ebarb,” Lena Srdanov, first place
• Sports Photo – “New Year, New Team,” Katelynn Blacklaw, honorable mention

Tower Newspaper

• Feature Writing – “Food Insecurity,” Katie Beth Fly, second place
• Editorial Writing – “Mask Required,” Rachel Burns, second place
• General Column – “I’m So OCD,” Jocelyn Waters, second place
• Election/Political – “Do You Really Know Your Political Party?” Emma Reddin, first place
• Headlines – “Social Christmasing: Students Look Forward to Going Home for the Holiday Season,” Rachel Burns and Jocelyn Waters, first place
• Art/Illustration – “For Better or For Worse,” Haley Lingenfelter, third place
• Sports Photo – “One for All,” Marcela Bueno, third place
• Sports Story – “One for All,” Faith Birmingham, third place
• Editorial Cartoon – “Mind Over Matter,” Faith Birmingham, first place; “Navigating Communication,” Jocelyn Waters, second place; “Battle for the Funds,” Faith Birmingham, third place
• Cartoon Strip – “Nice Mask!” Rachel Burns, third place
• Front Page Layout – “Can You Give Me a Break?” Jocelyn Waters, second place
• Feature Page Layout – “Misconceptions of Mental Illness,” Jocelyn Waters, first place; “Misinformation,” Jocelyn Waters, third place; “Online Dating: Risk or Reward?” Jocelyn Waters, honorable mention
• Editorial Page Layout – “Battle for the Funds,” Jocelyn Waters, first place; “Let’s Turn the Tide,” Jocelyn Waters, second place; “Navigating Communication,” Jocelyn Waters, third place

Tower Media leadership included Jocelyn Waters and Emilee Brown, Spring 2020 Tower newspaper co-editors; Jocelyn Waters and Rachel Burns, Fall 2020 Tower newspaper co-editors; Kat Carson, Tower Web editor; Haley Lingenfelter, Spring 2020 Tower Photo editor; Mallory Sullivan, Fall 2020 Tower Photo editor; Hannah London, Tower social media editor; Abigail Lowery, Tower Video editor; Elliot Bender and Logan Cline, Spring 2020 Tower Radio station managers; Logan Cline and Eli McAlister, Fall 2020 Tower Radio station managers, and Jocelyn Waters and Coby Harvison, 2020 Carillon yearbook co-editors.

Article submitted by Ann Gardner, Central Baptist College Communication Department Chair, Assistant Professor of Communication and Student Publications Advisor.