Three members of The Emory Wheel were selected as finalists for two of the 2017 Mark of Excellence Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

News Editor Alex Klugerman (20B) and Executive Editor Richard Chess (20C) were one of three finalists in the “Breaking News Reporting (Large)” category in Region 3 for their story “Fraudulent Agency Scams SPC,” which detailed the Migos booking scam for the 2017 Dooley’s Week concert.

In the weeks following the story, the Wheel reported that the University lost $37,500 due to the scam. Most recently, the Wheel reported that one of the individuals behind the scam, Octaveon Woods, is facing criminal indictment for five counts of wire fraud and six counts of money laundering after scamming $66,250 out of entities including Emory and the University of Missouri.  

Former Photo Editor Parth Mody (21C) was one of two finalists in the “Breaking News Photography (Large)” category in Region 3 for his photo depicting a protest outside of Emory University Hospital (EUH) after EUH delayed a kidney transplant for toddler A.J. Burgess.

Region 3 includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each award had two subcategories: Large and Small. The Large category is for publications at universities with a student enrollment of 10,000 or more, while the Small category is for publications at universities with a student enrollment of 9,999 or fewer.

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