UW-Milwaukee Student Journalists Win National SPJ Reporting Award

Four Media Milwaukee journalists have won a first place national Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence reporting award for their extensive coverage of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Athletic Department controversies.

The work of student journalists Tisia Muzinga, Paul Willems, Miela Fetaw, and Kristopher Schimmel was deemed the best online sports journalism in the country by SPJ. The student journalists reported and wrote the stories in core journalism courses at UWM and for Media Milwaukee.com, the online student newspaper produced by students in the Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies Department at UWM.

The national SPJ award comes on the heels of UW-Milwaukee student journalists winning 8 first-place awards and 20 overall honors at the Milwaukee Press Club banquet in May. You can read those winners below or here.

The 2016 Mark of Excellence awards are prestigious. Other national winners this year include students from Yale University, Harvard and others. Muzinga, Fetaw, Schimmel, and Willems were the only Wisconsin student journalists to be national winners this year.

uwm jams
Pictured, clockwise: Tisia Muzinga, Paul Willems, Kris Schimmel, and Miela Fetaw.

“The MOE Awards honor the best of collegiate journalism within a calendar year,” the SPJ press release says. “National Mark of Excellence Award winners are chosen from the category winners in each of SPJ’s 12 regions, and the awards are judged by journalism professionals with at least three years of experience.”

Altogether, Media Milwaukee student journalists have now won 50 major college journalism awards in prominent state, regional and national competitions in 2016 in radio, print/online, and television categories. Media Milwaukee.com was named best college news site in several 2016 competitions.

The work was produced in  journalism courses at UWM’s Journalism, Advertising and Media Studies Department (JAMS). Students in JAMS 320 Integrated Reporting and JAMS 342 TV News Reporting courses banded together to cover the athletic controversies.

SPJ will recognize first-place national winners during Excellence in Journalism 2017, Sept. 7-9 in Anaheim, California, the release says.

“Judges were directed to choose only those entries they considered outstanding work worthy of a national honor,” according to SPJ.

The Athletic Department controversies broke out when UWM’s Athletic Director Amanda Braun fired Rob Jeter, the men’s basketball coach, and then a popular radio host resigned. The student journalists spent weeks exhaustively investigating every angle of the controversy. They filed open records requests, conducted statistical analysis, and sat down for extensive interviews, including one with Braun.

Four print/online stories written by the students as part of the collaborative reporting project were submitted to the contest. Here are the stories that were submitted for the national honor:

Rob Jeter Had a Better Record Than Some Other Coaches, by Paul Willems and Tisia Muzinga

UW-Milwaukee Blacks Out Most of Braun’s Emails on Men’s Basketball, by Paul Willems

Braun Defends Jeter Firing, Says Only Jordan Was Offered Job, by Kristopher Schimmel and Paul Willems

UWM’s Johnson Explains Instagram Resignation, Suspension Details, by Miela Fetaw and Tisia Muzinga

The Milwaukee Press Club award winners were also just announced. UWM students were on hand to pick up the state awards at the banquet in Milwaukee.

milwaukee press club
Milwaukee Press club award winners from Media Milwaukee, UWM.

Here is a list of those winners:

Milwaukee Press Club

Best News Story              

GOLD
Matt Campbell
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
UW-Milwaukee Restroom Policy Brings Mixed Reaction

Best Long Feature Story               

SILVER
Shana Wilson
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
Against the Academic Odds

BRONZE
Keaton Walkowski
JAMS 320 and JAMS 342 Reporting Staffs
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
It’s Not the Water

Best Short Feature Story             

BRONZE
Matt Campbell
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
Captain Jim Fickler: “Full of Life; Full of Fun”

Best Sports Story            

SILVER
Daniel Zielinski
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
From Texas to Milwaukee: Zac Saddler’s Journey to the UWM Men’s Basketball Program

Best Investigative Reporting     

GOLD
Mary Jo Contino
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
TRANSparency: UW-Milwaukee Transgender Locker Room Policy Remains Under Wraps

Best Still Photograph/Photos    

GOLD
Sabrina Johnkins
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
Westboro Church protest

Best Audio News Story Single or Ongoing        

SILVER
Amanda Watter
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
High School Students Learn About the Devastation of Suicide

Best Feature Story         

GOLD
Brandon Anderegg
Sabrina Johnkins
Monica Skipper
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
Milwaukee River Cleanup: Sights and Sounds

BRONZE
Jordan Garcia
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
A Sweet Day for Students at Dessert Fest

Best Video News Story Single or Ongoing        

BRONZE
Katarina Vergara
Gabrielle Barriere
Jordan Garcia
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Vote: why the inner city did not turn out for Hillary Clinton

Best Program, Documentary or Special 

SILVER
Geoff Marshall
Joe Micholic
Somer Servais
Tamara Jarvi
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
Parachute

BRONZE
Allie Mott
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
Hot Dog and a Handshake

Best Use of Multi-Media, Online            

GOLD
JAMS 320 class
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
How Trump Turned the Mississippi River Valley Red

SILVER
Geoffrey Marshall
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
Milwaukee’s Urban Farms: Defining Success

Best Local News or Feature Website     

GOLD
Media Milwaukee Staff
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee

Best Blog            

SILVER
JAMS 320 reporting Staff
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
Live Blog: Milo Yiannopolous Comes to UW-Milwaukee

Best Investigative Reporting     

GOLD
JAMS 500 Reporting Team
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
Wisconsin High School Concussions, Sports Injuries Not Tracked

SILVER
Emily Zantow
Pakou Lee
Rebecca Papenthien
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
Investigating Milwaukee Gun Court

Best News Story

GOLD
Keaton Walkowski
JAMS 320 and JAMS 342 Reporting Staffs
Media Milwaukee/UW-Milwaukee
It’s Not the Water

In addition to the national honor, Media Milwaukee student journalists won 13 four-state regional awards in the 2016 SPJ competition, including six regional first-place honors. The Media Milwaukee news site as a whole won first place in the four-state regional competition for best independent online student publication.

SPJ Regional Award Winners

Mary Jo Contino, “UW-Milwaukee Transgender Locker Room Policy Remains Under Wraps,” In Depth Reporting

JAMS 320 reporting class, Milo Yiannopoulos Coverage, Online News Reporting (Margaret Sponholz, Jenna Daroszewski, Kaliice Walker, Keaton Walkowski, Luis DeLeon, Nicole Frechette and all contributors to the Live Blog)

Amanda Watter, “High School Students learn About the Devastation of Suicide,” Radio News Reporting

Rachel Pagel, “Relationships Are Focus of Student Musical,” Radio Feature

JAMS 320 reporting class, UWM Athletic Department Controversies, Online Sports Reporting (Tisia Muzinga, Paul Willems, Miela Fetaw, Kris Schimmel).

These were the regional finalists for SPJ from UWM:

Media Milwaukee Staff, “How the Mississippi River Valley Turned Red,” Online In-Depth Reporting. (Jaimie Anderson, Brandon Anderegg, Gabrielle Barriere, Aubryana Bowen, Jenna Daroszewski, Dino Dominici, Nicole Frechette, Jenna Gaidosh, Jordan Garcia, Madison Goldbeck, Ean Holtz, Keio Horton, Chardanay Hunt, Sabrina Johnkins, Christina Luick, Matthew Mussa, Ana Martinez-Ortiz, Morgan Paradis, Allison Steines, Stevan Stojanovic, Nyesha Stone, Katarina Vergara, Kaliice Walker, Keaton Walkowski, Amanda Watter, David Watters)

Darien Yeager, “Students Not Prepared for Work World, Employers Say,” Radio News Reporting

Dan Zielinski, “Wichmann believes team can prove doubters wrong,Online Sports Reporting

JAMS 320 reporting class, Covering the Democratic Debate, Online News Reporting (Matt Campbell, McKenzie Huckabay, Benjamin Slowey, Somer Servais)

JAMS 500 reporting class, “Modern Day Leper,” Online Feature Reporting (Armando Manriquez, Ashley Haynes, Jakayla Phillips, Jordyn Noennig, Madeline Gecewicz, McKenzie Huckabay, Miela Fetaw)

Shana Wilson, “Against the Academic Odds,” Online Feature Reporting

Luke Zembrowski, “Faces of UWM: The Iraq War Vet (But Don’t Tell His Parents),” Radio Feature

The other 2016 awards won by UWM Student Journalists were:

Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association, Eric Sevareid awards

Best News Site, first place

Best Multi-Media Team Reporting for “How the Mississippi River Valley Turned Red

Wisconsin College Media Association (for 2016 and 2015 work, awarded in 2016)

The award winners in full were:

First place

Media Milwaukee, First Place, Photography, Surviving Hate, Preaching Love, Dan Zielinski

Media Milwaukee, First Place, Sports Reporting, UWM Athletic Department Controversies, Paul Willems, Tisia Muzinga, Rebecca Papenthien, Miela Fetaw, Kris  Schimmel

Media Milwaukee, First Place, Sports Column, NFL: Nothing’s Free League, Cole Stevenson

Media Milwaukee, First Place, General Reporting, On Humanity’s Edge, JAMS 500, Reporting Class (Jonathan Powell, Shana Wilson, Daniel Zielinski, Amanda Porter, Dylan Deprey, Tyler Nelson, Mary Jo Contino, Bo Bayerl, William Bott, Shannon Kirsch, Stevan Stojanovic, Amanda Melkonian, Amber Bak, Ellie Malone, Sarah DeGeorge, Mike Holloway, Graham Kilmer.)

Media Milwaukee, First Place, Freedom of Information, UWM Athletic Department Blacks Out Emails, Paul Willems

Second place

Media Milwaukee, Second Place, Sports Column, The Scarlet Letter C, Jonathan Powell

Media Milwaukee, Second Place, Freedom of Information, Wisconsin Open Records Complaint Tracking, Stevan Stojanovic

Media Milwaukee, Second Place, General Web Excellence, Media Milwaukee, JAMS students

Media Milwaukee, Second Place, Investigative Reporting, Unregulated Risk, Amanda Melkonian, Amber Bak, Shannon Kirsch, Ellie Malone

Media Milwaukee, Second Place, Feature Writing, The Ageless Man, Jonathan Powell

Third place

Media Milwaukee, Third Place, General Reporting, UW Budget, Jaimie Anderson, BM, Xing Qi, Somer Servais

Media Milwaukee, Third Place, Investigative Reporting, Inside Milwaukee Gun Court, Emily Zantow, Pakou Lee, Rebecca Papenthien

Media Milwaukee, Third Place, Feature Writing, Message of Hope, Dylan Deprey, Tyler Nelson

Honorable mention

Media Milwaukee,Honorable Mention, Feature Writing, Milwaukee Veterans are Soothed With Strums, Elizabeth LaPointe