The journalism department recognized this year’s outstanding student journalists with the Jay and Gail Milner Distinguished Student Journalism Awards. Winners were selected by judges Sean Jensen, Andrea Masenda ’13 and Lena Blietz ’15.
“The entries were really, really impressive. I’m encouraged by the new generation of journalists. There were several categories where I could have picked one or two people,” said Jensen.
Interactive – recognizes outstanding presentation of data for easy, flexible and meaningful use by readers
Benton McDonald for graphics used in TCU executive compensation out paces faculty salaries and benefits, Student COVID-19 cases near zero as semester reaches midpoint and TCU announces ‘back to campus’ plans for fall semester
Narrative Multimedia Story – recognizes an outstanding interactive story that involves the audience through the use of dynamic features
Haeven Gibbons for TCU social work majors go into the field to help support Fort Worth’s homeless
Sports Reporting – a news, feature story or commentary in sports related to an event or issue
Colin Post for LaDainian Tomlinson calls for racial understanding, asks TCU to lead the charge
Enterprise Reporting – this includes explanatory and investigative journalism on any topic
Collin Pittmann for Showstopper: Regional theaters hit hard by COVID
Feature Story of the Year – recognizes an outstanding effort in news, business, feature or entertainment
Haley Cabrera for The cost of loving the arts: Costumes, shoes, paints and extra lessons all come at a price
Story of the Year – recognizes an outstanding single effort by a reporter, photographer or other multimedia journalist
Olivia Wales for Chemistry professor misses first TCU basketball home game in 40 years due to pandemic restrictions
Reporter of the Year – recognizes excellence in student media work by TCU journalism majors
Haeven Gibbons for Tarrant County emergency shelters prepare for cold weather with reduced capacity, Food Insecurity in Austin Amid COVID-19, Experts concerned about rise in Fort Worth’s homeless population as eviction moratorium nears end, Leader of the ‘Let Us Worship’ movement brings his message to Fort Worth and TCU organization addresses increase in student depression and anxiety
Editor of the Year – recognizes outstanding achievement by an editor or other student leader over the course of the school year
Benton McDonald – he coordinated rolling coverage during the February winter storm; broke the news through an Open Records Request of a connection between a car accident and a hazing violation; led editing process of three-part hunger series written by Haeven Gibbons in collaboration with two classes; worked with journalism students to not just ‘write the email,’ but provide context and background to what they report; worked through hundreds of pages of legal documents to report on ongoing lawsuits faced by TCU and distill issues into easy-to-understand language