Awards
Vy Luong wins AEJMC Inez Kaiser Award
By Austin Fitzgerald Vy Luong, Ph.D. ’26, is a recipient of the 2026 Inez Kaiser Graduate Student of Color Award, bestowed by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The prestigious award honors strategic communication students enrolled or finishing degrees in a graduate program. Its namesake, Inez Kaiser, was a Kansas City … Continued
Meet the 2026 Missouri Honor Medalists
By Austin Fitzgerald Three major figures in journalism and strategic communication will receive the 2026 Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in recognition of their extraordinary careers. This year’s medalists are: Jon Cook, Global CEO of VML and WPP Creative, a multinational network of advertising agencies; Alberto Ibargüen, longtime news executive and former president and … Continued
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 … Continued
Zoe Naylor wins $3,000 Stelzer Stipend Award to kick off journalism career post-graduation
By Austin Fitzgerald COLUMBIA, Mo. (June 30, 2026) — Zoe Naylor, MA ’26, has won the Richard J. Stelzer Starter Stipend Award, a $3,000 prize for an outstanding graduating master’s student from the Missouri School of Journalism. Naylor received the honor for writing the most compelling personal statement detailing the life and professional experiences that … Continued
KBIA wins five Public Media Journalists Association awards
By Emily Early COLUMBIA, Mo. (June 30, 2026) — The Missouri School of Journalism’s KBIA-FM, an NPR-member station, was honored with five Public Media Journalists Association awards. Three staff members, one alum and one student from the School of Journalism won five of the 293 annual awards, selected from over 1,500 entries. This marks the … Continued
Héctor Alejandro Arzate wins Atwater Writing Prize with multiplatform story
Héctor Alejandro Arzate listens for natural duck sounds he can record for his prize-winning story at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area. By Austin Fitzgerald COLUMBIA, Mo. (June 26, 2026) — Héctor Alejandro Arzate, a graduate student at the Missouri School of Journalism, has won the 2026 James and Patricia Atwater Memorial Writing Prize. Awarded by the … Continued
Missouri School of Journalism alum Claire Rounkles wins Blanchard Dissertation Prize
By Austin Fitzgerald COLUMBIA, Mo. (June 11, 2026) — Claire Rounkles, BJ ’18, PhD ’25, has earned the coveted 2026 Margaret A. Blanchard Dissertation Prize from the American Journalism Historians Association. Rounkles is the first Mizzou student to win the award, which recognizes her doctoral dissertation exploring how the Black press in the Midwest covered … Continued
Update: KBIA adds national Murrow Award to 9 regional wins
By Austin Fitzgerald Update Aug. 13, 2026: “Dumped In Berger” has earned a national Murrow Award in the Investigative Reporting category. “This project essentially turned on a cold call resulting from a white pages search, and the subsequent receipt of 11 pounds worth of three-ring binders full of legal documents,” said Stan Jastrzebski, KBIA’s news … Continued
3 Missouri School of Journalism students take Top 10 Hearst placements
By Emily Early COLUMBIA, Mo. (May 28, 2026) — Three students placed first, third and seventh across recent Hearst competitions, spotlighting undergraduate community reporting from the Missouri School of Journalism in the national awards program. With the monthly competitions now complete, the School of Journalism finished in second place in the Intercollegiate Broadcast Competition and … Continued
Sungkyoung Lee Honored with University of Missouri Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity
By Austin Fitzgerald COLUMBIA, Mo. (May 13, 2026) — Sungkyoung Lee, an associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, has received the Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Research and Creative Activity. The campus-wide award celebrates mid-career faculty who have made significant contributions to their fields through rigorous inquiry. In Lee’s case, the award honors the … Continued