2021 Mark of Excellence
National Winners and Finalists

Videography

Broadcast/Online Feature Videography

National Winner

Urban farming

• National Finalist: "How Chicago lost its commercial fishing industry," by Jacob Ohara, Forbes
• National Finalist: "Uncertain waters," by Hazel Cramer, Montana Kaimin

Broadcast/Online News Videography

National Winner

Special Delivery From Atlantic Terminal Squad

• National Finalist: "John and Esteban," by Ryan Adams, Jenna Galligan, The Daily Iowan
• National Finalist: "Navajo Nation clings for survival," by Brenda Elizondo, Our America

Broadcast/Online Sports Videography

National Winner

Rush: Jackson He

• National Finalist: "The Comeback Year," by Annie Boos, The NewsHouse

Television

Best All-Around Television News Magazine

National Winner

Our America

• National Finalist: "ViewFinder," by Staff, ViewFinder/Capital News Service
• National Finalist: "Hotty Toddy News," by Staff, Hotty Toddy

Best All-Around Television Newscast

National Winner

NewsVision

• National Finalist: "Centre County Report," by Hope Burley, Connor Griffin, Isabel Hayes, Kyle Cannillo, Penn State's CommMedia, WPSU
• National Finalist: "IU NewsNet," by Staff, IU NewsNet

Breaking News Reporting (Small, under 10k students)

National Winner

Massive power outage forces cancellation of classes and operations for a second day

Television Breaking News Reporting

National Winner

Protesting Polisky

Television Feature Reporting

National Winner

Never say never

• National Finalist: "“Safe at Home” - smiling through the pain," by Preston Shoemaker, Penn State's CommMedia, WPSU
• National Finalist: "Glassblower," by Tim Littau, Manuel Gonzalez Barreto, Marquette Wire: MUTV

Television General News Reporting

National Winner

Water pipeline

• National Finalist: "Surfs up, surf pups! Annual dog surfing competition returns to Huntington Beach," by Sophia Giordano, WEBN-TV Boston (Emerson College)
• National Finalist: "Rittenhouse trial verdict divides community," by Grayson Sewell, Media Milwaukee

Television In-Depth Reporting

National Winner

Weathering the storm

• National Finalist: "Throwing Up the Hand U," by Derryl Barnes, Gianna Sanchez, UMTV
• National Finalist: "Chinese scholar controversy," by Andrew Fancher, Denton Community Television

Television Sports Reporting

National Winner

SIV strong

• National Finalist: "“The Dopest Dude” on Penn State’s basketball team," by Zach Gershman, Penn State's CommMedia, WPSU
• National Finalist: "Trash car racing," by Sarah Murphy, A-TV News

Print/Online

Best Affiliated Web Site

National Winner

The Harvard Crimson

• National Finalist: "The Appalachian website," by Staff, The Appalachian
• National Finalist: "northbynorthwestern.com," by Staff, North by Northwestern

Best Independent Online Student Publication

National Winner

The State Press

• National Finalist: "Upstate Unearthed," by Staff, Upstate Unearthed
• National Finalist: "Native News," by Staff, Native News Honors Project/Missoulian

Best Student Magazine

National Winner

The New Journal

• National Finalist: "Amendment Literary and Art Journal," by Staff, Virginia Commonwealth University Student Media
• National Finalist: "Ball Bearings Magazine," by Staff, Ball Bearings Magazine

Breaking News Reporting (Large, 10k+ students)

National Winner

'Infamy is just as good as fame': UK student among crowd that mobbed Capitol building

• National Finalist: "Chauvin verdict inspires cheers, tears in downtown Minneapolis," by Mia Laube, Emily Haugen, Angeline Terry, TommieMedia
• National Finalist: "Police served multiple warrants against FIJI and its members last year, court records show," by Caleb McCullough, The Daily Iowan

Corbin Gwaltney Award for Best All-Around Student Newspaper (Large, 10k+ students)

National Winner

The Southwestern College Sun

• National Finalist: "The Emory Wheel," by Staff, The Emory Wheel
• National Finalist: "The Argonaut," by Staff, The Argonaut

Corbin Gwaltney Award for Best All-Around Student Newspaper (Small, under 10k students)

National Winner

The Maroon

• National Finalist: "The Ithacan," by Staff, The Ithacan
• National Finalist: "The Graphic," by Staff, The Graphic

Editorial Writing

National Winner

Editorials

• National Finalist: "The Daily Free Press," by Staff, The Daily Free Press
• National Finalist: "Editorials," by Editorial board, The Emory Wheel

Feature Writing (Large, 10k+ students

National Winner

24 hours with the Robert Anderson survivor protesters outside Schlissel’s house

• National Finalist: "Saving the planet one sniff at a time," by Jessica Gatzow, Media Milwaukee
• National Finalist: "‘Does god hate?’: 2SLGBTQ+ individuals seek affirmation, face religious condemnation," by Jillian Taylor, The OU Daily

Feature Writing (Small, under 10k students)

National Winner

Ronald Crutcher reflects on the Westham Burying Ground

• National Finalist: "A Crowd, a question and a typewriter," by Katia Faroun, Off the Bluff Magazine
• National Finalist: "Yuri Hernandez Osorio: Past and Present," by Will Mulligan, The Beacon

General Column Writing (Large, 10k+ students)

National Winner

Columns

• National Finalist: "Dear cable news, Leaving Afghanistan was the right choice; Free Steven Donziger; Taxing the rich," by Erik Uebelacker, The DePaulia
• National Finalist: "Title IX enforcement," by Claire Sullivan, Reveille | LSUReveille.com

General Column Writing (Small, under 10k students)

National Winner

The Lehigh-LGBTQ+ experience

General News Reporting (Large, 10k+ students)

National Winner

Mine spill of 2014 continues to devastate Sonoran communities years later

General News Reporting (Small, under 10k students)

National Winner

Deconstructing the police narrative

• National Finalist: "Black Student Coalition demands renaming of buildings named after enslaver, eugenicist ," by Staff, The Collegian

In-Depth Reporting (Large, 10k+ students)

National Winner

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• National Finalist: "US deems migrant seafood workers ‘essential’ but limits their COVID-19 protections," by Staff, Capital News Service
• National Finalist: "Tulsa Race Massacre centennial," by Staff, The OU Daily

In-Depth Reporting (Small, under 10k students)

National Winner

Rohingya diaspora in the U.S.

• National Finalist: "“This will change us”: Swarthmore considers upscale condo proposal in downtown," by Owen Mortner, The Swarthmore Phoenix
• National Finalist: "Marijuana charges hold past offenders back from future opportunities," by Artie Bennett, Jabez Berniard, The Maroon

Sports Column Writing

National Winner

Columns

• National Finalist: "Columns," by Michael Vestey, The Miami Student
• National Finalist: "Sports columns," by Jackson Payne, The Daily Universe

Sports Writing (Large, 10k+ students)

National Winner

Last chance Yuma: Thriving Arizona Western soccer program bonds a community

• National Finalist: "Former Florida women’s basketball players detail abuse under Coach Newbauer," by Zachary Huber, The Independent Florida Alligator
• National Finalist: "Beauty vs. body: MSU's female student-athletes share body image struggles," by Jayna Bardahl, The State News

Sports Writing (Small, under 10k students)

National Winner

Before Jackie Robinson, there was Thomas Harding

Audio

Best All-Around Radio Newscast

National Winner

Carolina Connection

• National Finalist: "Ithaca Now," by Staff, WICB-FM

Podcast

National Winner

Destination: Greenwood

• National Finalist: "Offbeat," by Staff, The Diamondback
• National Finalist: "“No Wiindigo economy”: Student activism and the fight for fossil fuel divestment," by Staff, The Daily Northwestern

Radio Feature

National Winner

Arizona’s RUF Nation puts Indigenous roots on display through combat athletics

• National Finalist: "Kayak paddle to save the ecosystem," by Olivia Bensimon, AudioFiles, NYCity News Service
• National Finalist: "A conversation with Alabama Noir contributor Kirk Curnutt," by Baylen Parker, TROY Public Radio

Radio In-Depth Reporting

National Winner

Challenging Roe v. Wade: Breaking down today’s abortion debate

• National Finalist: "Health care proxies in the time of COVID," by Yessenia Moreno, AudioFiles, NYCity News Service
• National Finalist: "Pinal County farmer struggles to grow crops with less water," by Emma VandenEinde, Cronkite News/Arizona PBS

Radio News Reporting

National Winner

Campus cooks in decline

• National Finalist: "Our poisoned kids," by Sydney Gold, WAER
• National Finalist: "For people with eating disorders, the pandemic is ‘almost tailor made’ for relapses," by Charlotte Ix, Carolina Connection

Radio Sports Reporting

National Winner

Athlete mental health

• National Finalist: "Roy Williams retires as UNC men’s basketball coach, saying he’s no longer ‘the right man for the job," by Ben Rappaport, Ava Pukatch, Zach Engler, Aurora Charlow, Carolina Connection
• National Finalist: "‘You’re it!’ Local parkour athlete plays, commentates competitive tag," by David Payne, Cronkite News/Arizona PBS

Art/Graphics

Best Use of Multimedia

National Winner

Indignity in death

• National Finalist: "Visualizing 81," by Staff, The NewsHouse

Breaking News Photography

National Winner

Racial reckoning

Breaking News Photography (Small, under 10k students)

National Winner

Drive by shooting near campus

Data Visualization

National Winner

International students struggle to learn across time zones as COVID-19 keeps them out of New York

• National Finalist: ""Initiatives take on the challenge of cleaning the Baltimore Harbor, but problems run deep "," by James Hartner, Taneen Momeni , Capital News Service
• National Finalist: "VSG Senate pass/fail survey results," by Emery Little, The Vanderbilt Hustler

Editorial Cartooning

National Winner

Cartoons

• National Finalist: "Commonwealth Times cartoons," by Lauren Johnson, The Commonwealth Times
• National Finalist: "Cartoons," by Cristina del Coro Trio, The Shorthorn

Feature Photography (Large, 10k+ students)

National Winner

The hardest job she’ll ever love

• National Finalist: "Excited for the show," by Tri Duong , Rocky Mountain Collegian
• National Finalist: "The drag show must go on: 4Some Revue adjusts to performing during pandemic," by Alina Nelson, Cronkite News/Arizona PBS

Feature Photography (Small, under 10k students)

National Winner

Beauty in business: Student-owned lash business offers affordable services to community

• National Finalist: "It's snow time," by Mitchell Shields, The Hawk
• National Finalist: "Pilgrimage Festival," by Hannah Cron, Lumination Network

General News Photography (Large, 10k+ students)

National Winner

Galbreath protest

• National Finalist: "Candlelight vigil," by Gavin Liddell, The NewsHouse
• National Finalist: "Indianapolis mourns FedEx shooting victims," by Alex Deryn, Indiana Daily Student

General News Photography (Small, under 10k students)

National Winner

Get it right the first time, that was a hate crime'

Photo Illustration (Large, 10k+ students)

National Winner

Inside on the outside

Sports Photography (Large, 10k+ students)

National Winner

Men’s soccer: CSUN extends losing streak to 7 games

• National Finalist: "Catch at third," by Trevor Cockburn, The Breeze
• National Finalist: "Big 12 Championship tackle," by Josh Wilson, The Baylor Lariat

Sports Photography (Small, under 10k students)

National Winner

Men's team celebrates with fans

• National Finalist: "Teams still on the field even as semester ends," by Alessandro Rivero, The College VOICE
• National Finalist: "UNCP Women's Basketball," by Andrew Thrift, The Pine Needle

All Platforms

Arts/Fashion Journalism

National Winner

The people behind the instruments

• National Finalist: "Wear Me This," by Sujena Soumyanath, The Daily Free Press
• National Finalist: "Supporting Style," by Allysann Jackson, SMU Look

Collaborative Journalism

National Winner

Covid reportage in Arkansas

• National Finalist: "Illinois divided," by Staff, The Daily Northwestern

Cultural Criticism

National Winner

Why do we crave creepy shows?; Bridgerton challenges racial expectations; Little Free Libraries

• National Finalist: "14 Beats," by Aneesah Shealey, 14 East
• National Finalist: "Film and Television Critique," by Megan Fisher, Luke Jackson, The Daily Utah Chronicle

Food/Restaurant Journalism

National Winner

Tlaloc brings Mexican authenticity, family tradition to Athens community

• National Finalist: "Restaurant staffing issues," by Will Sleddins, Nebraska News Service

Immersion Journalism

National Winner

Visualizing 81

Video Game/Tabletop Game Reporting

National Winner

Meet the all-womxn speedrunners of Fleet Fatales

• National Finalist: "UTA varsity Smash Bros. team wins first championship," by Cole Kembel, The Shorthorn
• National Finalist: "Keep chasing bonfires," by Austin De Dios, The Beacon