UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Entries from students in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications earned first-place finishes in eight different categories and secured the competition’s top overall honor at the annual Keystone Student Media Awards.
Work by Penn State students was honored in a variety of disciplines, including broadcasting, photography, podcasting and writing during the statewide competition coordinated by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.
Broadcast entries secured five first-place finishes for Bellisario College students, including:
- Best Newscast, “Centre County Report” (Oct. 27, 2023), produced by Olivia Dunne, Cameron Lobley, Destiny Sanchez, David Guerrero, Sophia Montanye and Scott Stranix;
- Best Spot News Coverage, “Student Groups Organize Protest for Palestine,” Olivia Dunne;
- Best Feature, “Far from War,” Anjelica Rubin;
- Best Public Service, “Food Insecurity,” Olivia Ausnehmer; and
- Best Sports Coverage, “Rallying 4 Max,” Carlos Garcia.
Those results helped “Centre County Report,” which also finished second for Best Newscast, earn the competition’s Sweepstakes Award, which tallies points in all categories to determine a winner. Additional entries from “Centre County Report” earned second place in Best Public Service and Best Sports Coverage, as well as an honorable mention in Best Feature.
The weekly student-driven newscast airs across Pennsylvania on WPSU-TV (PBS) to 29 counties and 500,000 television homes. It also streams throughout the state as the result of partnerships with KDKA-TV (Pittsburgh), KYW-TV (Philadelphia) and WNEP-TV (Scranton/Wilkes-Barre).
Three additional first-place finishes honored Penn State student work for:
- Podcast, "Franco's Immaculate Legacy," a series about Franco Harris, with contributors Josh Moyer, Ben Taylor, Adam Babetski, Karyn Schaller, Cade Miller and Madelyn Shaw;
- News Photo, “Protest Flag,” Alyssa Rubin, who earned three individual awards with that first and seconds in features and sports; and
- Sports Story, “Throwing Heat,” Spencer Ripchik. Another Penn State entry completed a one-two finish in the category.
The Student Keystone Media Awards contest recognizes high school and college journalism that provides relevance, integrity and initiative in serving readers. Any student at any public, private or parochial Pennsylvania high school, college or university who has had their material published in the school newspaper may enter the contest. Students who have had their work published on a digital news site may enter the contest provided the site meets the criteria as outlined in the contest rules.