UW-Milwaukee Brings Home 17 Prestigious SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards

In the regional Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards, UWM students won eight first-place honors and 17 awards total, among the best in the upper Midwest. The contest honors top collegiate journalists in four states: Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Winners in their categories go on to the national SPJ competition.

UWM awards were for print/online, video and audio stories covering Covid-19, the 2020 election and civil unrest in Wisconsin.

Two UWM students received two first-place awards each, a rare honor. Richa Karmarkar won for her print/online profile of a Milwaukee church protesting racism, and for her video coverage of efforts to bring out the Latinx vote in Milwaukee. Also receiving top honors were Jessica Gatzow’s audio piece about UWM bands adapting to social distancing, and her print/online story about environmental justice on the city’s north side.

An immersion class project, Rising Waters, was recognized for Online Feature Reporting and Feature Photography. A reporting trip to New Orleans for the project was funded in part through a grant from the Greater Milwaukee Foundation/Journal Foundation Walter Jay and Clara Charlotte Damm Fund.

Earlier this spring, the Milwaukee Press Club announced that UW-Milwaukee students won 32 awards, more than any other Wisconsin university. The press club honors are in addition to UWM’s 2020 awards from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, which named Patricia McKnight as Collegiate Journalist of the Year.

Winning entries came from Media Milwaukee, a class-based, online news source, and the UWM Post, an independent student publication.

Complete list of UW-Milwaukee Society of Professional Journalists 2020 Mark of Excellence award winners:

Newspaper General News Reporting Finalist: John Quinnies – Americans don’t know what to believe this election season

Newspaper Feature Writing Winner: Richa Karmarkar – Milwaukee church protests racism through religion

Newspaper Feature Writing Finalist: Hannah Borchert – Aspiring teachers share struggles with fallout from Covid-19

Art/Graphics Breaking News Photography Winner: Adrian Hurd – Voters brave a pandemic

Art/Graphics Feature Photography Finalist: Patricia McKnight – Rising Waters

Radio Feature Winner: Jessica Gatzow – UWM bands keep making music during Covid-19

Radio Feature Finalist: Brianna Schubert – With a few changes, exercise continues on campus

Radio Sports Reporting Finalist: Grayson Sewell – Friends get out for some fresh air and “frolfing”

Television General News Reporting Finalist: Terese Radke – Local shops make the most of Small Business Saturday

Television Feature Reporting Winner: Richa Karmarkar – Voces de la Frontera brings election closer to Latinos

Online News Reporting Winner: Jodie Filenius – In a time when caring more is vital, the UW System chose to care less

Online News Reporting Finalist: Media Milwaukee staff – The search for Sean Baek

Online News Reporting Finalist: Ethan Duran and Adam Kelnhofer – Students talk about their experiences after residence halls close

Online Feature Reporting Winner: Media Milwaukee staff – Rising Waters

Online Feature Reporting Finalist: Adrian Hurd – ‘The pandemic helped me find my purpose’: Black women-owned businesses persevere in 2020

Online In-Depth Reporting Winner: Jessica Gatzow – Fighting for climate change justice on Milwaukee’s north side

Special Covid-19 category, Newspaper, Magazine and Online Coverage Winner: UWM Post staff – Racial disparities and displaced semesters