Place Name: First Place Contestant Name: St. Edward's University Entry Title: Hilltop Views Entry Credit: Claire Lawrence, Kennady Basdekis-Morin, Rogelio Adame Govea Judge Comment: This is a well-organized website. The navigation is simple and straightforward. There is a variety of content down the homepage, organized by section. The stories are also well-written and researched. They are very relevant to the student body. The pictures are compelling and captioned well. One suggestion would be to provide another opinion for controversial topics such as Roe v. Wade. However, the photo story does the movement justice. The pictures are different sizes, but this could even have been done on purpose and does not take away from the piece.
Place Name: Second Place Contestant Name: Tyler Junior College Entry Title: The DrumBeat Entry Credit: The DrumBeat Judge Comment: The layout of the page is modern and well organized. The logo needs to be a sharper resolution. The sections down the homepage provide good variety in content and navigation. The stories are well written and the pictures are compelling. One recommendation would be to have a different font for captions; the captions currently blend into the body copy. The lighting for the vide of the guest speaker was too dark. Also, the video newscast on the homepage was a great element. Consider adding more personality to the script rather than a deadpan presentation. Also consider a different voice over introduction - the voice sounds too old for a college paper. The amount of content covered is impressive!
Place Name: Third Place Contestant Name: Texas Wesleyan University Entry Title: The Rambler Website Entry Credit: Rambler Staff Judge Comment: The homepage is very well organized. The navigation makes sense. One suggestion would be to shift the "About Us" tab down the line of the menu, in the footer, or even as a menu above the header. The most important information is the news/stories - put those first. However, the homepage offers a variety of content. The amount of video content is impressive. There is probably room to add a Featured section in the body of the homepage as well. The featured story was well researched and contained great pictures.
Place Name: Honorable Mention Contestant Name: Texas Woman's University Entry Title: The Lasso Newspaper Website Entry Credit: Laura Pearson, Maddie Ray, Brielle Gines Judge Comment: The header and menu are clean, well organized, and straightforward. The homepage is difficult to navigate because it does not categorize the stories. It may be a bit too simplistic. The images are a tad too big, and the default images are cut off. The latest print feature is nice, but it is also cut off on the homepage. The secondary story in the sidebar is interesting, but the layout looks disjointed. The stories are well written and feature compelling pictures.
