John Carroll University’s student newspaper, The Carroll News, won four new awards during the last Society of Professional Journalism (SPJ) regional conference for 2025, hosted in Cleveland on April 4-5 by Cleveland State University in the Levin College of Urban Affairs.
The regional SPJ represents Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia and saw The Carroll News compete with dozens of competitive college news and media organizations.
Despite the stiff competition, The Carroll News came away with four new awards.
In the breaking news category, Laken Kincaid ’24, Tate Farinacci ’25 and Amelia Marlow ’25 received the award in Breaking News Reporting for “BREAKING: Petition garners national attention to stop JCU drag show.” The story followed online attention for drag performances at the university, which received backlash from a conservative organization referencing standards in Catholic education.
In athletics, Michael Patterson ’25 won the Sports Writing award for “Blue Streaks cruise to historic 52-7 playoff win.” The article highlighted the sizable win of the John Carroll Blue Streaks of Mount St. Joseph University of Cincinnati, which propelled John Carroll to a playoff showdown with rival Mount Union in late 2024.
For business news, Jacob Meyers ’28 was named as a finalist for the Retail/Small Business Journalism award for “Economies bolstered by universities.” At the time, Meyers was only a staff reporter and has since been promoted to campus editor. His piece follows the business on John Carroll Blvd., which profits from the university, while tracking similar trends at other stores around the state.
Finally, Laken Kincaid, Joseph Wiethorn ’24 and Evan Richwalsky ’24 were recognized as finalists for “BREAKING: John Carroll evaluating legal options in zoning battle with Shaker Heights.” This piece follows the continuing fight over new residencies that have put the university in conflict with the neighboring city of Shaker Heights and members of the City Planning Commission of Shaker Heights.
At the conference, besides bestowing awards, a special recognition for the 100th anniversary of The Carroll News was given, along with congratulations for a return to print, which can be found here.
The conference overall marks another milestone in excellence in reporting and journalism for The Carroll News, which has given opportunities for students to continue to grow as journalists.
