UW-River Falls Campus Media Win Newspaper, Broadcast Awards

March 2, 2016 -- Student journalists for the campus newspaper and radio station at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls once again have been recognized for their work by Wisconsin's two leading professional media organizations.

Both the Wisconsin Newspaper Association (WNA) and the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (WBA) held their annual conventions at the end of February. Among events at the conventions were ceremonies awarding the best in professional and student journalism in the state.

In the Collegiate Better Newspaper Contest sponsored by the WNA Foundation, the UW-River Falls student newspaper, "The Student Voice," won a second place award for best editorial. The staff-written editorial, published in May, provided context after the campus learned of a student's death.

"Great editorials can take sensitive topics and in a compassionate way use the issue to call for a needed change," a judge wrote. "This column achieved that."

In the WBA Student Awards for Excellence, two students earned first place honors for their work on WRFW, the campus radio station. The contest saw more than 290 entries from colleges and universities across the state.

Sophia Koch, a journalism major from Spring Valley, won in the category Long-Form Storytelling (Radio, Non-News). Her story was about the Asian Culture Fest that occurred on campus last semester.

Ian Martin, a communication studies major from Siren, won in the Radio Public Affairs category. His story was about The Gunnar Project, based in St. Paul. Gunnar died in a skateboarding accident and his father began the project soon after.

The Student Voice and WRFW are student-run campus media organizations supported primarily by student fees and advised by faculty in the Communication and Media Studies Department.

For further information, contact Professor Sandy Ellis, chair of the Communication and Media Studies Department, at 715-425-3169 or sandra.ellis@uwrf.edu.