The Murray State News won 45 awards, including first place in its division and College Journalist of the Year, at the Kentucky Press Association convention Jan. 24 in Lexington, Kentucky.
The Murray State News won first place in Student Publications 1, the division for schools under 10,000 enrollment. Kristopher Fister, photography editor for The Murray State News, won Journalist of the Year in the college division, which included all Kentucky schools. The Murray State News competes in Student Publications 1, or schools under 10,000 enrollment.
Fister, a senior graphic communications media major from Murray, won eight awards, including sweeping the sports photography category and winning three first-place awards. Fister is the first Murray State student to win this honor.
The News last won its division in 2020. The News won 15 first-place awards, 13 second-place awards, seven third-place awards and seven certificates of merit this year. The 45 awards are the most The News has received from KPA.
“These student journalists have put in an incredible amount of work to produce high-quality journalism, and it’s nice to see their efforts recognized and awarded,” said Leigh Landini Wright, adviser. “I’m especially proud that we won our division, and one of our staffers won the top individual award of Journalist of the Year.”
The News has a long tradition of excellence with awards at the state and national level. Began in 1927 as The College News, it has seen many changes in newspaper page sizes and format.
The News transitioned last year from a weekly newspaper to a digital-first online publication with monthly printed publications and two specialty publications (Gateway and Racer Guide). The digital-first model has allowed student journalists to showcase their skills in photography, videography, podcasts, audio pieces and social media, as well as writing.
“The fact that we swept the multimedia/social media category speaks to the changing nature of presenting the news,” Wright said. “The winning entry came from an audio piece produced during the eclipse last year. The piece included a digital (written) component and photos. I tell students that you have to be able to tell the story in multiple ways.”
The News is student-produced and student-run.
Bri Hunter, editor in chief, said she is proud of the staff’s hard work that they put into the print and digital versions of The Murray State News.
“Everyone works very well as a team and we are always looking for ways to soar above the standard,” Hunter said. “I am thankful to our adviser as well for her guidance in what we produce, because this is a learning environment and it helps us student journalists perfect our skill before we hit the real world.”
KPA also recognized advisers from the seven Kentucky student media organizations that collaborated on an editorial about anti-DEI legislation proposed in last year’s legislative session. The collaborative effort earned the organizations a Pacemaker finalist designation, one of the highest awards in student journalism. KPA presented the advisers with the Russ Metz Most Valuable Member Award for their work with student journalists.
Awards:
1st place, General Excellence, Student Publications 1
KPA Journalist of the Year, College Division
? Kristopher Fister
Russ Metz Most Valuable Member Award
? Leigh Landini Wright, adviser
First place awards
? Jill Smith, best breaking news coverage
? Scottlynn Ballard, best feature story
? Zach Simmons, best sports feature
? Ania Boutin, best enterprise or analytical story
? Jill Smith, best investigative story or series
? Scottlynn Ballard, best use of social media or multimedia
? Ania Boutin, best video
? Emma Fisher, best breaking news photo
? Sam Mitchell, best general news photo
? Rebeca Mertins Chiodini, best feature picture
? Kristopher Fister, best picture essay (breaking, general or feature)
? Kristopher Fister, best sports picture
? Rebeca Mertins Choidini, best sports picture essay
? Staff, best special section/sports special section
? Kristopher Fister, best front page
Second place awards
? Ben Overby, best feature story
? Ben Overby, best columnist
? Jakob Milani, best sports feature
? Jordan Spaulding, best enterprise or analytical story
? River Murt, best investigative story or series
? Aly Adler, best use of social media or multimedia
? Kristopher Fister, best breaking news photo
? Kristopher Fister, best general news photo
? Staff, best picture essay (breaking, general or feature)
? Kristopher Fister, best sports picture
? Kristopher Fister, best sports picture essay
? Jakob Milani and Jill Smith, best special section/best sports special section
? Jill Smith, best headline
Third place awards
? Jill Smith, best sports feature
? Jill Smith, best enterprise or analytical story
? Jill Smith, best lede
? Drayton Charlton-Perrin, best use of social media or multimedia
? Kristopher Fister, best general news photo
? MacKenzie Rogers and Rebeca Mertins Chiodini, best picture essay (breaking, general
or feature)
? Kristopher Fister, best sports picture
Certificate of merit
? Scottlynn Ballard, best editorial writer
? Jakob Milani, best sports story
? Staff, best on-going, extended coverage story
? Scottlynn Ballard, best business/agriculture story
? Staff, best website
? Jakob Milani and Zach Simmons, best sports section
? Nate Hunt, best editorial page
