OU Daily staffers won three first-place awards in the Society of Professional Journalists' regional competition for their watchdog coverage of the proposed Rock Creek Entertainment District and arena.
The competition in SPJ's Region 8 draws entries from college news organizations in Oklahoma and Texas. In the competition against schools with at least 10,000 students, the Daily earned the following honors:
1st place in breaking news reporting: For a story by Anusha Fathepure detailing how messages obtained by the Daily showed that OU students were offered payment to attend a city council meeting on a key vote regarding the entertainment district.
1st place in general news reporting: For a follow-up story by Fathepure in which a contractor for the Norman Economic Development Coalition confirmed he offered students money to attend key city meetings, characterizing his payments as "transportation and meal stipends" to foster civic engagement.
1st place in in-depth reporting: For comprehensive coverage of the overall arena issue, for a body of work by Karoline Leonard, Ismael Lele, Peggy Dodd and Fathepure, that included:
• The winner in the general news category
• One in which OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. said that if Norman wouldn't build the project OU wanted the university would "be looking at other (cities), Oklahoma City, Moore, surrounding areas and figure out where is there a group that wants to do this."
• And one which explored how Norman Mayor Larry Heikkila said paying people to attend meetings is appropriate, while five other members of city council — including two who voted for the district — said it's not.
Additionally, the Daily was named a finalist, along with the Baylor Lariat, for best affiliated website. First place in that category went to The Shorthorn at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Mark of Excellence awards are judged by professional journalists, and winners from SPJ's 12 regions advance to a national competition that is judged in late spring.
