Gaylord College is ranked as the fifth best journalism program in the country in the fifth annual NewsPro-Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) Top Journalism Schools poll of news professionals. This position is shared with the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, which remains.

NewsPro released results of the poll in its December issue. One respondent's endorsement of Gaylord's "healthy mix of cutting-edge research and on-the-job application" was included in the article as one of the reasons for its top ten debut this year.

Conducted by NewsPro and RTDNA, the survey is in its fifth year. The study polls members of RTDNA to find which J-schools deserve to be ranked in the top 25 of the nation. The survey received 673 responses this year, down by nearly half from the 2013 survey.

Respondents selected the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri at Columbia, the oldest J-school in the country, as the top school for the second year in a row, citing the school's "Missouri Method" as the main reason for its success. The method enables students to learn in real-world settings. In addition to the more common student-run productions, Mizzou offers students the chance to learn hands-on by working on the school-owned NBC/CW affiliate, KOMU-TV, a Spanish-language radio program or a weekly magazine.

If those opportunities sound familiar, that's because they are very similar to the myriad hands-on opportunities that Gaylord offers.

Students can work in sports broadcasting with SoonerVision, in news broadcasting with the award-winning OU Nightly or create something unique with the student-produced television station OUTV.

Gaylord students can gain print and/or online experience with Student Media: the summer magazine The Sower; Sooner Yearbook; the student-run newspaper, The Oklahoma Daily, or its associated weekender, ESCAPE.

The Wire offers opportunities for students who would like to try their hand at a podcast, and the NPR affiliate KGOU is also housed on-campus for a more traditional experience with radio production.

Gaylord is also home to the nonprofit, investigative news team, Oklahoma Watch, as well as the student-run advertising agency, Lindsey+Asp, which was referenced in the NewsPro article.

With this many opportunities for integrated learning, Gaylord may be the best kept secret in journalism and mass communication education and should be expected to climb through the ranks in the future.

"The University of Oklahoma is an often-overlooked leader in journalism education," one survey respondent explained. "It's a playground for future storytellers that should be commended on its rise in recent years."

The Oklahoma Daily will receive another national award this spring.

The student-run newspaper based in Copeland Hall learned over winter break that it is one of 13 hybrid newspaper/websites to be selected for the prestigious Crown Award for 2015.

The 2015 award honors work done during the 2014 calendar year. Kyle Margerum, professional writing alumnus, was the spring 2014 Daily editor. The fall 2014 editor was Blayklee Buchanan, professional writing senior, who continues as the spring 2015 editor.

All 13 finalists announced Dec. 18 will receive Crown Awards, but they won't know until March if their crown is gold -- the highest honor -- or silver. That announcement will be made at the College Media Association convention March 11-14 in New York.

The award is given annually by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.

The Daily was selected from among 1,203 publications to enter the 2015 contest.

Read more about the Crown Award, as well as the Daily's commitment to "News Now," on oudaily.com.

Four Gaylord students were crowned Grand Champions of the fall semester's JMC 2033 AP Stylebook Jeopardy Tournament.

The winning team was composed of Lauren Dodson, Ashley Geary and Tana Stevens, all from Lab 12, coached by Leslie Cermak. They were joined by Luke Robertson from Lab 17's winning team, which had more than the allowed four members.

The Lab 12 team defeated Labs 11 and 13 in the first semifinal, then bested the other semifinal winners -- Labs 14 and 18 -- in the final round to take the title on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

The tournament has been a part of JMC 2033 Writing for Mass Media since fall 2011 as a way to engage students in learning AP style.

The Gaylord chapter of PRSSA will hold its first spring 2015 meeting on January 20 in Lindsey+Asp. The group will meet every other Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m. in the agency for the remainder of the semester.

The PRSSA New York City agency tour is scheduled for April 8 - 12. To participate in the tour, email Jessica Murphy, jessica.z.murphy@ou.edu, stating your interest as soon as possible.

The first meeting of the book group is Wednesday, January 14 at 12:30 p.m. in the presentation room at Lindsey + Asp.  The group will review the marketing and sales book "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely.

The OU chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) has elected three new officers to carry the organization forward in the spring semester.

At a meeting Monday, Nov. 24, the membership elected Paighten Harkins, journalism senior, president; Daisy Craeger, journalism freshman, vice president; and Kate Bergum, journalism sophomore, secretary. They will  join treasurer Joey Stipek, who returns for the spring, as the organization's leadership.

The special elections were made necessary by the December graduations of SPJ President Molly Evans, Vice President Arianna Pickard, and secretary Tony Beaulieu.

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The Sam Noble Museum, winner of the 2014 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, is offering a paid intern position in PR and marketing.

The intern will be responsible for assisting with social media, layout of publications and writing for our blog and newsletter. Strong writing skills are a must. We'd like to fill the position as soon as possible.

To apply, search for requisition number 21266 on jobs.ou.edu.