Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

Newhouse Students’ Tablet Magazine Named Best in the Nation by SPJ

Friday, May 29, 2015, By Wendy S. Loughlin
Share
Newhouse School of Public CommunicationsStudents
bell_cover (2)

Bellwethr was created by students in the 2013-14 MNO class as their capstone project. The cover story concerns an upcoming vote on the legalization of medical marijuana in Florida.

Bellwethr, a tablet magazine developed by graduate students in the Newhouse School’s magazine, newspaper and online journalism (MNO) program, has been named the nation’s Best Digital-Only Student Publication by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). The recognition came as part of SPJ’s Mark of Excellence Awards competition, which honors the best in college journalism.

First-place national winners will be recognized at the Excellence in Journalism conference in Orlando this September.

Bellwethr was created by students in the 2013-14 MNO class as their capstone project. The students originally developed the concept when they competed in the annual Newhouse Tablet Competition, a digital editorial contest modeled on Silicon Valley-style hackathons in which teams of students compete against each other to win funding for their magazine ideas. The Bellwethr team “wanted the magazine to act as a navigation for young people in their various aspects of life,” says Antoinette Siu, who served as editor-in-chief.

The students worked on Bellwethr for about three months before launching the app in late June 2014. Stories—42 in total—were posted at http://bellwethrmag.com.

“We met new challenges every day,” says Siu. “One of the biggest was probably managing so many stories [from] different writers and editors.”

“The greatest reward in all this has to be seeing the team pull together our last week, getting through that last round of fact-checking and editing stories, seeing all the art come together for every story, ” she says.

In addition to Siu, students on the Bellwethr team included Ben Burrows, managing editor; Miriam Taylor, art director; Colleen Lowery, associate art director; Ethan Joyce, copy chief; Kathleen Rubino, research chief; Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, web designer; and Nick Canedo, digital and social media manager.

Ally Balcerzak, Jenna Belmonte, Lauren Bodreau and Ashley Branch served as senior editors. Staff writers included Kassie Brabaw, Katrine Dermody, Adam Matula, Chris Landers, Thomas Scott, Mei Wang and Xhevrije West.

Rounding out the masthead were Jess Marshalek and Donato DiRenzo, copy editors; Rong Lin, videographer; Jennifer Lioy, illustrator; and Vekonda Luangaphy, photographer.

Faculty members Melissa Chessher, Jim Shahin and Doug Strahler served as advisers.

  • Author

Wendy S. Loughlin

  • Recent
  • Men’s Soccer Team Gives Back to Syracuse Community for Season of Support
    Friday, June 2, 2023, By Kathleen Haley
  • June 30 Deadline Set for Fiscal 2023 Year End Business
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By News Staff
  • DPS Accepting Sign-Ups for R.A.D. Summer Session
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By Alex Haessig
  • Syracuse Stage Adds 2 Musicals to 50th Anniversary Season
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By Joanna Penalva
  • Supporting, Advocating for Trans Youth Will Help Them Thrive As Adults
    Friday, May 26, 2023, By Daryl Lovell

More In Media, Law & Policy

From Generation to Generation: Doing Well by Doing Good

The arrival of Michael Wohl ’72, L’75 on the campus of Syracuse University in the late 60s was inevitable. After all, his father and mother were proud alumni who literally placed a fraternity pledge pin in his bassinet. But it…

‘Infodemic’ Reporting Project Investigates Impact of Scams, Disinformation

The rise of scams and disinformation and its impact on society and daily life are the focus of a comprehensive reporting project produced by Newhouse School students. “Infodemic” includes more than 30 stories packaged with photos, videos, illustrations, audio, data…

A&S Graduate Student Advocates for Access to Unsanitized History of Kenya and Beyond

Joy Nyokabi Karinge was home in Kenya when she discovered that her grandfather had been tortured, detained and disenfranchised by the British for his part in the Mau Mau war in Kenya, a Kenyan revolt against British colonial rule in…

Comparing Voter ID Laws in the US and UK With Gretchen Coleman ’22 on the ‘’Cuse Conversations’ Podcast

There Gretchen Coleman ’22 was, enjoying a private tour of the House of Lords, the second chamber of the United Kingdom (U.K.) Parliament, that was led by a peer, a member who was passionate about election reform. The topic is…

Screenwriter and Faculty Member Keith Giglio to Recount Navigating Cancer Diagnoses and Hollywood at Impact Symposium

The idea behind Keith Giglio’s presentation at the Spring Newhouse Impact Symposium came to the associate professor while he was lying in a gurney at Upstate University Hospital. A screenwriter who teaches in the television, radio and film program, Giglio…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.