Cronkite students win prestigious journalism awards of excellence
Student journalists from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and The State Press, ASU’s independent student news outlet, were recognized with the most first place awards, as well as the most awards overall, in SPJ’s annual Mark of Excellence Awards. ASU students received top honors in seven categories and three students also finished as finalists in the annual Mark of Excellence Awards presented June 21, 2022 in Indianapolis.
The SPJ awards recognize collegiate work, whether it was published or broadcast and are regarded among the most prestigious honors for student journalists. A winner is recognized by the organization in each of its categories if it believes that there is a nominee that achieves the level of excellence they expect. If no student work meets that expectation, the society award is not given.
ASU walked away from this year’s competition with more awards than Yale, Harvard, and the University of Arizona combined.
‘Little Victims Everywhere’ is a piece by Cronkite’s investigative team discussing how child sexual abuse cases within indigenous communities often fall through the cracks of the federal justice system. It won the In-Depth Reporting category from SPJ. Cronkite students Brendon Derr, Rylee Kirk, Anne Mickey, Allison Vaughn, McKenna Leavens and Leilani Fitzpatrick all share authorship for this incredible, award-winning article. Read the full, six-part piece here.
Amiliano Fragoso didn’t know he was going to win an award for his article ‘Last Chance Yuma,’ he didn’t even know he was nominated until after he had won. Regardless of the victory, Fragoso always knew this piece was going to be great.
“Sometimes you get that feeling that this could be an incredible piece,” Fragoso said. “I could kind of tell right away this could really be something special.”
Fragoso was granted special access to Arizona Western College’s Yuma soccer program. There he was able to observe the players and their community closely, giving his piece a more personal approach than others. A once simple story became an opportunity to talk about community, one bonded by a love for soccer. Read his article here.
Recent grad Katelyn Keenehan has ample experience when it comes to reporting in the field. She’s worked with a wide range of broadcasters including PBS, NBC, and the Arizona Republic, however, it was her reporting with Cronkite News about the installation of a new water pipeline on the tribal lands of the Pascua Yaqui that earned her the SPJ award for Television General News Reporting.
The piece described the Pascua Yaqui tribe’s past struggles with water access and its impact on the community, and the civic work that went into building the pipeline. Keenehan walks viewers through the story with professional grace, demonstrating her award-worthy skills as a reporter and broadcaster. Watch Keenehan’s story here.
The award for Best Independent Online Student Publication is an incredibly sought after one, and this year, ASU’s online student newspaper The State Press took home the winning title.
“Returning to campus to work in person for the first time in over a year and a half was a big challenge,” said Greta Forslund, The State Press executive editor for the 2022-23 school year and a senior at Cronkite. “Our staff took it in stride, producing some excellent content, including our first mini documentary, numerous long-form investigative stories, our first all-Spanish issue of State Press Magazine, and daily stories, photos, illustrations, podcasts and videos.”
The State Press releases in-depth pieces covering a wide range of topics from the new venue restrictions in Tempe, ASU’s carbon neutrality, to updates on ASU residence halls.
“We thank our audience, sources, staff and donors for making our work possible,” Forslund continued. “We look forward to another year of great journalism that ethically serves, challenges and provokes our large and changing University audience.” Check out The State Press website here.
The SPJ Awards doesn’t just honor traditional pieces and publications., Editorial Cartooning has its own award category as well, and this year, ASU student Reed Steiner won the title.
Steiner’s work has appeared in The State Press, gaining notoriety for his satirical and humorous comics about student life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Steiner also provided numerous illustrations for other important topics, including a piece about the pressures of being a first generation student, toxicity within Greek Life communities, and conflicting political attitudes. Check out some of his work on the State Press website here.
With more than a hundred sports articles under his belt, it's no surprise that a practiced sports reporter like David Montoya won an award for his piece on RUF Nation, a tribally owned fight company based in Phoenix.
Montoya isn’t just an experienced writer, he also works extensively in video and audio broadcast. His story about RUF Nation was an audio feature broadcast on Cronkite News’ Soundcloud page, which earned him the SPJ’s title for the 2021 winning radio feature. Listen to Montoya’s piece here.
Sun Devils appreciate their student athletes, but Drake Presto shined a spotlight on a specific star with his piece titled ‘Rush: Jackson He’. This video, created for State Press, follows running back He, a Chinese-born football player, as he paves the way for other athletes from China with his own accomplishments.
Presto made use of his videography and writing skills to produce and direct this award-winning video. As a reward for his professional caliber work, his piece earned the title in the SPJ Awards’ Broadcast/Online Sports Videography category. Watch the full story here.