Student Media hauls in awards at national conventions

Northwest Missouri State University Student Media brought home a total of 61 awards from two fall national media conventions in recent weeks, including Yearbook of the Year for the fourth consecutive year.

The College Media Association (CMA) and the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) hosted their Fall National Media Convention Oct. 30 through Nov. 2 in New Orleans, and College Media Business and Advertising Managers (CMBAM) hosted its convention Nov. 7-10 in Philadelphia.

“The fact we are competing with schools of every size from across the country makes the number of awards we won simply astonishing,” Steven Chappell, the director of student media at Northwest. “It speaks directly to the quality of the mass media program at Northwest, its faculty and its facilities, which are among the best in the country.”

Cassie Ford, a junior from Kansas City, Missouri, majoring in mass media with a broadcast and production emphasis, is in her second year as editor-in-chief of Tower yearbook. She served as editor of the 2024 edition, which brought home 14 awards from the New Orleans convention, including a Best in Show award to go with its Yearbook of the Year honor.

“It felt like a big win to share with the staff, especially since a good portion were returners from last year,” Ford said. “We put ourselves out there with our theme choice, our designers poured their heart and souls on their spreads, and we’re taking this positive momentum into creating next year’s volume.”

The Northwest Missourian, which nabbed 31 awards in New Orleans – more than any other newspaper – and four more in Philadelphia, brought home first-place awards for both best print sports section and best web sports section, among others. Before the convention, in September, the Missourian was named one of 43 student newspapers and news magazines to be finalists for the ACP’s Pacemaker award.

“I am unbelievably proud of my staff,” said Missourian Editor-in-Chief Savannah Athy-Sedbrook, a senior from Augusta, Kansas, who is majoring in digital media with a content strategy emphasis. “We work so hard every week to produce creative and quality content for our readers, and it’s been extremely rewarding to see the payoff.”

Additionally, KNWT, the student-run television station at Northwest, received nine awards. Blake Rizner, a senior from Jefferson City, Missouri, majoring in mass media with a broadcast and production emphasis, is its general manager.

KZLX 106.7 LP-FM, Northwest’s student-run radio station captured two awards. Tanner DeHaven, a senior from Weston, Missouri, majoring in mass media with a broadcast and production emphasis, is its general manager. 

A complete listing of student media awards Northwest organizations received this spring is provided below.

CMA Pinnacle Awards

Northwest Missourian

• Best Advertising Rate Card, first place: Vanessa Weiler and Sydney Cook
• Best Editorial Cartoon, third place: “Student Senate,” Hailey Johnson-Neeser
• Best Editorial Illustration, third place: “Brain,” Hailey Johnson-Neeser
• Best Newspaper Feature Page/Spread, second place: “Living the Dream,” Savannah Athy-Sedbrook
• Best Newspaper Front Page, third place: “A New Era,” Savannah Athy-Sedbrook
• Best Newspaper News Page/Spread, third place: “Broken Pipes,” Julianna Lawrence and Savannah Athy-Sedbrook
• Best Opinion Page/Spread, second place: “In Our Own Backyard,” Savannah Athy-Sedbrook
• Best Newspaper Sports Page/Spread, second place: “Through The Years,” Julianna Lawrence
• Best Special Section Cover, honorable mention: “Mental Health,” Julianna Lawrence
• Best General News Photo, honorable mention: “Megan Stidham raises her arms,” Aaron Hare
• Best Sports News Photo, third place: “Northwest football sophomore quarterback Chris Ruhnke,” Aaron Hare
• Best Breaking News Story, honorable mention: “Shooting at Super Bowl parade impacts Northwest students,” Hannah Claywell
• Best Editorial, honorable mention: “People shouldn't be desensitized to mass shootings, reform is needed,” Editorial Board
• Best Special Section - Four Pages or Fewer, first place: “Ben McCollum,” Wesley Miller
• Best Special Section - More than Four Pages, second place: “Mental Health,” Missourian Staff
• Best Print Sports Section, first place: “A New Era,” Wesley Miller
• Best Sports Column, honorable mention: “What it's like to workout with Bearcat baseball,” Andrew Clark
• Best Web Sports Section, first place: Northwest Missourian, Wesley Miller
• Weekly Newspaper of the Year, third place: Northwest Missourian, Sidney Lowry

Tower yearbook

• Best Headline, first place: “It’s a Sign,” Cassie Ford
• Best Yearbook Cover, first place: “Signature,” Cassie Ford, editor-in-chief
• Best Yearbook Division Page/Spread, second place: “Greek Life,” Hailey Sandfort
• Best Yearbook Feature Page/Spread, first place: “Who Did It,” Cassie Ford
• Best Yearbook Feature Page/Spread, honorable mention: “Just Neighbors,” Cassie Ford
• Best Yearbook Feature Page/Spread, second place: “Sigma Kappa,” Cassie Ford
• Yearbook Feature Page/Spread, third place: “On the Air,” Nicole Dietzenbach
• Best Yearbook News Page/Spread, first place: “Winter Wonderland,” Cassie Ford
• Best Yearbook Sports Page/Spread, honorable mention: “Basketball,” Cassie Ford
• Best General News Photo, first place: “Meet the Tatums,” Hailey Sandfort
• Yearbook of the Year, first place: Tower, Cassie Ford

KNWT

• Best Short (sub-3 min) Video/Entertainment, second place: “Monster Field Guide,” Porter Williams
• Best Use of Short (sub 3-minute) Video for News and Information, honorable mention: “Northwest News,” Shelby Singleton
• Best Video Entertainment Program, second place: “Now You Know,” Tyrell Childress and Avery Andes
• Best Video Newscast, third place: “Channel 8 News,” Tristynn Clark
• Best Video Promo/PSA, first place: “Now You Know,” Tyrell Childress and Avery Andes
• Best Video Sportscast, third place: “Bearcat Update,” Killian Beck
• TV Station of the Year, second place: KNWT, Blake Rizner

CMA Film and Audio Festival Awards

• Audio Creative Performance, first place: “Live Story Audio Drama,” Riley Westpfahl and Riley Whittington
• Audio Documentary, second place: “The Beatles New Song,” Tyrell Childress

ACP "Of the Year" Awards

• Sports Game Story of the Year, honorable mention: Wesley Miller, Northwest Missourian
• Illustration of the Year, honorable mention: Julianna Lawrence, Northwest Missourian 
• Yearbook Cover of the Year, fourth place: Cassie Ford, Tower
• Feature Photo of the Year, third place: Alexis Starks, Northwest Missourian 
• Sports Game/Action Photo of the Year, honorable mention: Aaron Hare, Northwest Missourian

ACP Best in Show Awards

• Feature Story, ninth place: Trey Houchin, Northwest Missourian
• News/Feature Photo, fourth place: Aaron Hare, Northwest Missourian
• Yearbook Design, first place: Nicole Dietzenbach, Tower
• Broadcast Sports Story, fifth place: Reece Hill, KNWT
• Broadcast News Story, seventh place: Skyler Stamps, KNWT
• Advertisement, third place: Abby Miller, Northwest Missourian
• Advertising Media Kit, fifth Place: Northwest Missourian
• Broadcast News Program, fourth place: Northwest News, KNWT
• Digital Newsletter (four-year campus), seventh place: The Lead, Northwest Missourian 
• Website (four-year campus, 15,000 or fewer students), fifth place: Northwest Missourian
• Newspaper/Newsmagazine (four-year campus, more than 15,000 students), fifth place: Northwest Missourian
• Yearbook, first place: Tower

CMBAM Awards

• Best Sales Proposal, third place: Missourian Advertising
• Best Sales Incentive Program, second place: Missourian Advertising
• Best Seasonal Sales Promotion, third place: Missourian Advertising
• Best Sales or Operations Manager, second place: Vanessa Weiler, Missourian Advertising