The Tech Talk, Louisiana Tech University’s student newspaper, received five Mark of Excellence awards Saturday at the Society of Professional Journalists Region 12 conference in Oxford, Miss. The Tech Talk staff received first place in the Best All-Around Non Daily Student Newspaper in the large university category. The following journalism majors also received awards in the large university category:

• Addie Martin, a sophomore from West Monroe, won second place in feature writing for a story titled “Men of ‘Duck Dynasty’ explain southern stereotypes.”
• Amie Roland, a recent graduate from Ruston, won second place for general column writing.
• Derek J. Amaya, a junior from Metairie; and Chad Merritt, a junior from Livingston, received second place in Online News Reporting for a story titled “Dunn wins three golds in Poland.”
• Raney Johnson, a sophomore from Shreveport; Amaya and Merritt received third place in Online Sports Reporting for a story titled “Extreme Parkour.”

“These awards say something about the quality of our student’s work,” said Dr. Reginald Owens, chairman of the journalism department at Louisiana Tech. “Of course we are proud of the individual awards, but I am especially proud of the Best All-Around award. That speaks to the overall quality of our students’ work.” The Society of Professional Journalists Region 12 covers Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Written by Reggie Owens – regowens@latech.edu