UW-Milwaukee Student Journalists Win Five National SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards

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Media Milwaukee photojournalists were National Finalists in the SPJ Mark of Excellence contest for their coverage of gun marches in Washington, D.C. and Wisconsin. Photo: Henry Morgan

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee student journalists won five national Society of Professional Journalists awards for reporting, writing, audio storytelling and photography published in 2018, SPJ announced today.

Students’ coverage of the impact of Somali immigration in Barron, Wisconsin was named the best online feature reporting in the country. Talis Shelbourne, Elizabeth Sloan, Madison Sepanik, Darien Yeager, Tess Klein, Aubryana Bowen, Hailey McLaughlin, Brittani Cook and Michael Jung reported for the project.

UW-Milwaukee student journalists won top honors for their reporting on diversity and immigration in Barron, Wisconsin.

Stories named National Finalists included coverage of sexual harassment at UWM, profiles of Wisconsin communities whose challenges illustrate important themes in the upcoming 2020 election, scenes from the 2018 gun marches, and an intimate audio profile of Wisconsin women who chose abortion.

The SPJ awards are among the most prestigious in professional and collegiate journalism. UW-Milwaukee won more national awards than entrants from the Ivy League, and joined prominent journalism programs at Northwestern, Missouri, UC-Berkeley and Arizona State for top honors.

Media Milwaukee SPJ Mark of Excellence National Awards:

Online Feature Reporting National Winner: Talis Shelbourne, Elizabeth Sloan, Madison Sepanik, Darien Yeager, Tess Klein, Aubryana Bowen, Hailey McLaughlin, Brittani Cook, Michael Jung, Welcome to Barron

General News Reporting National Finalist: Talis Shelbourne, Jennifer Rick, Nyesha Stone, Henry Morgan, Miela Fetaw, Sexual Harassment on Campus

Feature Writing National Finalist: Royce Podeszwa and Derek Grant, The Village That Flipped Back

Radio Feature National Finalist: Alexis Amenson, Choosing Abortion

General News Photography National Finalist: Faces of the Gun Divide

This spring, student journalists also brought home five awards from the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association, and will make another strong showing at the Milwaukee Press Club awards dinner in May. The number of UWM finalists in the Press Club competition once again topped Marquette and UW-Madison. 

Special thanks to the Greater Milwaukee Foundation/Journal Foundation Walter Jay and Clara Charlotte Damm Fund, which provided financial support for student travel and reporting.