NW Missouri Times

Northwest Missouri State University's Student Media recently returned with 61 awards from two national media conventions. The College Media Association (CMA) and the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) held their Fall National Media Convention from October 30 to November 2 in New Orleans, while the College Media Business and Advertising Managers (CMBAM) hosted its convention from November 7 to 10 in Philadelphia.

Steven Chappell, director of student media at Northwest, remarked on the achievements: “The fact we are competing with schools of every size from across the country makes the number of awards we won simply astonishing. It speaks directly to the quality of the mass media program at Northwest, its faculty and its facilities, which are among the best in the country.”

The Tower yearbook staff achieved significant success with 14 awards at the Fall National Media Convention, including Best in Show and Yearbook of the Year honors. Cassie Ford, a junior majoring in mass media with a broadcast and production emphasis, serves as editor-in-chief of Tower yearbook. Reflecting on their achievement, Ford stated: “It felt like a big win to share with the staff, especially since a good portion were returners from last year. We put ourselves out there with our theme choice, our designers poured their heart and souls on their spreads, and we’re taking this positive momentum into creating next year’s volume.”

The Northwest Missourian staff secured a total of 35 awards between both conventions. In New Orleans alone, they garnered 31 awards—more than any other newspaper—and added four more in Philadelphia. The newspaper received first-place awards for best print sports section and best web sports section. Savannah Athy-Sedbrook, editor-in-chief of The Missourian and a senior majoring in digital media with a content strategy emphasis expressed her pride: “I am unbelievably proud of my staff. We work so hard every week to produce creative and quality content for our readers, and it’s been extremely rewarding to see the payoff.”

Additionally recognized were KNWT—the student-run television station—which earned nine awards under general manager Blake Rizner's leadership; he is a senior majoring in mass media with a broadcast and production emphasis. KZLX 106.7 LP-FM radio station also captured two awards; Tanner DeHaven manages it as a senior majoring in mass media.