By Ball State Marketing and Communications—
MUNCIE, IN – Ball State University’s student media organizations recently were recognized with several prestigious national journalism awards, as announced at the Fall National College Media Convention in Atlanta.
In all, student journalists from The Ball State Daily News, Ball Bearings magazine, and NewsLink Indiana received awards from the Student Press Law Center (SPLC), the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP), and the College Media Association (CMA).
Included in the awards for The Ball State Daily News, for a fifth straight year, was a Newspaper Pacemaker, considered the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism, a national “Website of the Year” award for Ball Bearings Magazine, and an Innovation Pacemaker for the cross-platform multimedia project, “Fleeing to Flyover Country.”
“These students spend thousands of hours each year pursuing excellence, and while they don’t do it for the recognition, sometimes that commitment is rewarded with national titles,” said Lisa Renze-Rhodes, director of the Unified Media Lab at Ball State. “We are beyond fortunate to do this work at a University that has a more than century-long history of robust student journalism, and we’re lucky to get to protect that important legacy.”
Awards won by Ball State student media included:
Student Press Law Center Award:
- The Ball State Daily News—Elissa Maudlin—finalist—Student Freedom of Information Award
- For her work on the two-part series about questionable practices by local property management companies and landlords.
Pacemaker Awards, from the Associated Collegiate Press:
- The Ball State Daily News/Ball Bearings Magazine/Ball State PBS—Staff—Winner—Innovation Pacemaker
- The Ball State Daily News— Staff—Winner—Newspaper Pacemaker (fifth year in a row)
- NewsLink Indiana—Staff—Winner—Broadcast Pacemaker
- The Ball State Daily News—Elissa Maudlin—first place—Four-Year Reporter of the Year—Pacemaker
- The Ball State Daily News—Bradley, Boissy, Joslin, Capper—Multimedia Sports Story, first place—Pacemaker
- The Ball State Daily News—Elissa Maudlin—In-Depth News Story, second place—Pacemaker
- The Ball State Daily News—Amber Pietz—Infographic, third place—Pacemaker
- The Ball State Daily News—Meghan Holt—Paper Front Page Design, third place—Pacemaker
- The Ball State Daily News—Meghan Sawitzke—Column, third place—Pacemaker
- Ball Bearings Magazine—Alex Bracken—Magazine Cover, fifth place—Pacemaker
- The Ball State Daily News—Jacy Bradley—Environmental Portrait, fifth place—Pacemaker
- The Ball State Daily News—Alex Bracken—Newspaper Page Design, honorable mention—Pacemaker
- Ball Bearings Magazine—Alex Bracken—Magazine Cover, honorable mention—Pacemaker
- The Ball State Daily News—Kyle Smedley—Human Interest Story, honorable mention—Pacemaker
- The Ball State Daily News—Staff—seventh place— Best of Show
Pinnacle Awards, from the College Media Association:
- Ball Bearings Magazine—Staff—Winner—Pinnacle Award—Best Website of the Year
- Ball Bearings Magazine—Alex Bracken—Magazine TOC, first place—Pinnacle
- The Ball State Daily News— Josie Santiago—Newspaper Opinion Page, second place—Pinnacle
- The Ball State Daily News—Josie Santiago—Newspaper Sports Page, third place—Pinnacle
- The Ball State Daily News—Amber Pietz—Best Newspaper Front, honorable mention—Pinnacle
About Ball State
Founded in 1918 and located in Muncie, Ball State University is one of Indiana’s premier universities and an economic driver for the state. Ball State’s 20,000 students come from all over Indiana, the nation, and the world. The 790-acre campus is large enough to accommodate first-rate facilities and 19 NCAA Division I sports, but our welcoming and inclusive campus is small enough to ensure the friendliness, personal attention, and access that are the hallmarks of the University. Destination 2040: Our Flight Path establishes Ball State’s ambitious goals for our second century. We Fly!
