Published March 11, 2024
CAPTION: Staff of The Hawkeye, ULM’s student-run newspaper, placed 3rd in the “Best Newspaper” category at the 2024 Southeast Journalism Conference. Pictured
left to right: Photographer Katherine Babin, Editor-In-Chief Zoe Sissac, Opinion Editor Sheriah
Williams, Art & Entertainment Editor Hanna Singh.
MONROE, LA – The staff of ULM’s student-run newspaper, The Hawkeye, joined student journalists from twenty-five universities at the Southeast Journalism
Conference 2024 on February 23-25, 2024, at Troy University in Troy, Ala. Editors
and contributors participated in professional sessions and on-site competitions over
the two-day event. Highlights included keynote speakers Emmy award-winning CNN journalist
Tom Foreman and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Ashley Remkus.
In the Best of the South 2023 Best Sportswriter category, The Hawkeye’s sports editor, Beau Benoit, ranked sixth, while former editor in chief, Cameron Jett,
ranked third. For two consecutive years, The Hawkeye won two awards for sports writing, the only university to do so. For Best Opinion
Editorial Writer, Jett ranked fourth. According to Jett, now pursuing a master’s
degree in communication, “We're up against universities such as Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Alabama, Tennessee,
Kentucky and many others. The fact that we're not only competing with them, but we're
holding our own and outranking some in competition is something everyone in our newsroom
can take pride in.”
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| Cameron Jett, Former Editor-In-Chief |
SEJC officials planned for fast-paced competitions. On the first evening, sports reporters
and photographers attended the Troy versus Harvard baseball game in Troy’s newly renovated
stadium. Freshman photographer Katherine Babin placed third in that competition.
Art and entertainment reporters and photographers attended Troy’s original musical
Chaos. Art and Entertainment editor Hanna Flynn Singh placed second. Saturday’s competition
continued with local events in which Babin; Singh; Sheriah Williams, Opinion Editor;
and Zoe Sissac, Editor in Chief, participated. Babin won News Photography with her
coverage of Troy University Police Department’s new taxi service for students. Singh
won Social Media Marketing with her multi-platform strategy for a major fast casual
restaurant chain. Sissac says of ULM’s results at SEJC 2024, “Tom Foreman reminded
us that the role of a journalist is ‘to be interested in the world and believe in truth.’ The Hawkeye embodies these characteristics. It is the hard work and dedication of the staff that
makes The Hawkeye the 3rd Best Newspaper in the South.”
Like most news outlets, The Hawkeye uses a hybrid print and digital publication model, publishing on Mondays ten times
each semester. Editors update the website and social media accounts with breaking
news throughout the semester. Students and faculty can pick up The Hawkeye on campus at the Hub, the library, and near the entrances of most academic buildings.
Community members can find The Hawkeye at Ouachita Parish Public Library Main Branch and Ouachita Valley Branch, as well
as local coffee shops. The digital version is available at https://ulmhawkeyeonline.com. Student Publications also produces Chacahoula. Student Publications is open to any student interested in campus news and events.
For more information contact Courtney Collins, assistant director, at 318.342.5450
or ccollins@ulm.edu.
