Prof. Ben Shors Reports: Washington State University won 15 awards in the SPJ Region 10 contest, which I believe is a record for us. The Daily Evergreen was named the second-best daily student paper for Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.

First-place winners will move on to the national competition later this spring:

Online News Reporting
• First Place: Libyan conflict threatens aid for graduate students – by Kirsty Whitmore, Washington State University
• Second Place: Universities struggle with federal crime reporting – by Scott Shigeoka and Rachel Webber, Washington State University

Online In-Depth Reporting
• First Place: In rural Northwest, the high cost of war – by Hannah Van Ree and Justin Runquist, Washington State University
• Second Place: Havoc in the herd: Extended coverage – by Kelsey Gobroski, University of Alaska Fairbanks
• Third Place: The Mast staff responds to publication of profanity imbroglio – by The Mooring Mast Staff, Pacific Lutheran University
Online Sports Reporting
• First Place: Heading taking a lot of blame as concussions increase in soccer – by Byron Edelman, Washington State University
• Second Place: Social media monitoring of athletes on the rise – by Ryan Burnett, Washington State University
• Third Place: Dodgeball ducks, dips and dives at PLU – by Judah Heimlich, Pacific Lutheran University
Television Breaking News Reporting
• First Place: Bicycle-bus accident – by Abby Acone and Gabrielle Lewis, Washington State University

It all sounded so credible. Writer/entertainer Mike Daisey documented a long series of abuses at factories where IPads are produced in China. Child labor; physical abuse, etc. etc. He produced a gripping piece for NPR’s This American Life that became the most downloaded segment the show had ever run. It was all great until Marketplace China reporter Rob Schmitz heard it and felt some things just didn’t ring true.

This weekend, TAL ran a long mea culpa, much of it documenting how Schmitz discoivered much of what Daisey had “reported” was a complete fabrication.

Hats off to TAL for falling on its sword BUT the fact remains, the show chose to use a non-journalist — an entertainer — to “report” a major investigation. Shame on them.

A new study by Murrow professors Bruce Pinkleton and Erica Austin challenges Conventional Wisdom about the link between media and political aparthy. Read the full story at http://bit.ly/w2cuDU.