Student Awards and Organizations

Cronkite students are involved in a range of activities and organizations that showcase their work and give them opportunities for recognition.

From the campus chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Public Relations Student Society of America, there are numerous opportunities for students to get involved. Students get to know professionals in their field and have the opportunity to plan projects and learn leadership skills.

Leaders of the student organizations, in addition to the editors of various student media, participate in the Student Leadership Advisory Council, which advises the dean on matters related to the school.

Many Cronkite students cut their journalistic teeth in Student Media, working for The State Press, ASU’s independent student newspaper or its Web site, the ASU Web Devil. Others work at SDTV, a student-run, closed-circuit television station that provides programming primarily for residence halls.

Still other students work at The Blaze radio station, which has been providing ASU students with news and entertainment since 1982.

The best student work from Cronkite magazine and depth reporting classes each semester is published on the Cronkite Zine, an online magazine presented in a multimedia format.

Cronkite student work is regularly recognized in local, regional and national contests. In 2008-09, students were first in the country in the prestigious Hearst Journalism Awards program, which honors the best college journalism nationally, and were first nationally in the Society of Professional Journalists awards competition. It was the fourth consecutive year that Cronkite students won more SPJ awards than any other school in the country.

Cronkite has been in the top 10 of the Hearst Awards for eight consecutive years. That includes a first-place finish in 2006-07 and second place finishes in the two previous years.

In 2007-08, Cronkite students topped the Broadcast Education Association competition, winning five first place awards in the association's annual news reporting and interactive media contests and taking home a total of 13 awards - more than any other school in the country.

Top minority broadcast students are selected each year for the Cronkite-Meredith Fellowship, a week-long intensive broadcast program held over winter break each year.

Outstanding students also are recognized each semester at the Cronkite School’s convocation, where awards are given for the undergraduate and graduate students who have demonstrated academic excellence and leadership.

Students who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class are inducted into Kappa Tau Alpha, the journalism honors society, during Cronkite convocation each semester.

The wide range of student activities and recognitions are part of the Cronkite School’s commitment to providing a strong professional experience for students that will open doors and prepare them for their chosen careers.