Missouri School of Journalism wins 2 national SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards after regional wins
By Emily Early
COLUMBIA, Mo. (July 13, 2026) — The Society of Professional Journalists has honored Missouri School of Journalism students and its Missouri News Network newsrooms with two national Mark of Excellence awards, along with six regional wins and one national finalist.
The awards cover content produced by Vox Magazine and KBIA, the School of Journalism’s print and digital magazine and National Public Radio member station, respectively.
“This recognition from SPJ highlights the impact of students’ community reporting across mid-Missouri,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School of Journalism. “The Missouri Method of learning by doing has them out in the field providing a vital public service, telling the stories that matter most to local communities. It’s great to see more national recognition for those efforts.”
Tyler White, who graduated in May with his master’s degree, won the National Mark of Excellence Arts/Fashion Journalism award for his Vox Magazine story, “In the hands of Columbia, art will survive.”
The piece dives into how Columbia responded to local art grants being revoked. White worked on the piece over approximately three months, detailing his reporting from a first-person perspective.
“It was really cool to see that it was being recognized because I put a lot of hard work into it,” White said. “It was cool seeing on a national level that people read my story, to see a story focused on Columbia being read outside of Columbia.”
The other national win went to junior and accelerated master’s student Tanner O’Neal Riley, who won the National Mark of Excellence Best All-Around Radio Newscast for a KBIA-FM segment he anchored in December. The same segment also won a PMJA award from the Public Media Journalists Association.
“This award is, for me, fuel being given to the engine of progress, striving for excellence and distinction; not just in the field of journalism but as it relates to helping the broader community in telling stories that would otherwise go untold and making a positive impact on communities that otherwise go unserved,” Riley said.
Vox Magazine was a regional winner of Best Affiliated Magazine, as well as regional winner and national finalist in Best Ongoing Student Magazine for its October 2025 issue, “It’s An All-American Ruckus.” The print issue covered a variety of topics including a Columbia concert, Missouri’s maternal mortality rate and local biscuit spots.
Heather Isherwood, the editorial director of Vox Magazine, said the award goes to every writer, editor, teaching assistant, photographer and designer who worked on the magazine.
“Anytime our publication as a whole can be recognized just makes me really prouder because it represents such a huge team,” Isherwood said.
SPJ honored two KBIA stories regionally. “Longtime Columbia resident deported,” by Lilley Halloran, Bella Zielinski and Cassidy Brown won the Mark of Excellence Radio In-Depth Reporting award.
Zielinski, a junior at the School of Journalism, dove into the ongoing reporting during a general assignment shift at KBIA.
“The fact that our coverage of this story was getting recognized on a more regional level was an indication that the community outpour of support and the work that the Ramsingh family had done and his friends had done was worth it,” Zielinski said, “because we were able to take their story and cover it in a way that earned national recognition. So, proudness and honestly, gratefulness, is what I felt when I won that.”
The other KBIA win was the Mark of Excellence Radio Feature award, which was given to Nora Crutcher-McGowan for her story, “Toaster Steak.” The piece highlights a group of people who formed online in Columbia using toasters to cook steaks.
KBIA News Director Stan Jastrzebski noted this year’s SPJ wins highlighted an assortment of student work.
“Mizzou is going to keep putting these sorts of people in positions to win awards every year because we’re just blessed to have them year after year after year,” Jastrzebski said.
He also recognized SPJ honors student work no matter their prior experience, which allows students to celebrate personal growth.
“It’s great exposure for the students, and if they get some recognition out of it too, awesome, but it really sets them up,” Jastrzebski said. “Hopefully, it’s good validation now, and I’m here to tell you that those sorts of things are gonna pay dividends in the future, too — not just on your resume, but someone will remember having seen or heard or read your work.”
Zielinski also appreciated the opportunity to celebrate her work in the J-School. She credited the School of Journalism for letting students start their professional careers in Missouri News Network outlets two-three years before graduating.
“The fact that students like me are able to win awards for our stories is really a testament to what the J-School preaches in the Missouri Method – that if you really focus and do your work and take all the opportunities that are given to you by the J-School and by your editors, it’s going to pay off,” Zielinski said.
The winners
National Mark of Excellence Awards (also recognized as regional winners)
- National Mark of Excellence, Best All-Around Radio Newscast: “Tanner O’Neal Riley Newscast” by Tanner O’Neal Riley, KBIA-FM.
- National Mark of Excellence, Arts/Fashion Journalism: “In the hands of Columbia, art will survive” by Tyler White, Vox Magazine.
- Best Ongoing Student Magazine, Finalist: “It’s An All-American Ruckus” by Vox Magazine.
Regional Mark of Excellence Awards
- Best Affiliated Website: VoxMagazine.com
- Personality Profile Writing (Large, 10k+ students): Finalist: “Davis Taylor takes the court to represent the USA” by Davis Wilson, Vox Magazine.
- Radio Feature
- Winner: “Toaster steak” by Nora Crutcher-McGowan, KBIA-FM.
- Finalist: “After tornado, does rebuilding recycling have to cost so much?” by Claire Powell, KBIA-FM.
- Radio In-Depth Reporting
- Winner: “Longtime Columbia resident deported” by Lilley Halloran, Bella Zielinski, Cassidy Brown, KBIA-FM.
- Finalist: “Black at Mizzou” by Lilley Halloran, KBIA-FM.
- Finalist: “The chilling effect of ICE” by KBIA-FM.
- Radio News Reporting, Finalist: “Tourism vs. townies: Hermann wrestles with housing issues” by Finnegan Belleau, KBIA-FM.
Updated: July 13, 2026