By Kasey Brammell
Arizona State University swept up 26 awards in the national 2021 Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts contest, including seven first place prizes.
This year is the 11th time in 12 years that the Cronkite School has finished ahead of other colleges around the country, winning with the most news division awards.
Caitlynn McDaniel, a recent graduate of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications, won the top prize of “Best of Festival” in the student news category for her radio story “Wildlife Trade.”
“Of all the radio stories I produced with the Cronkite School, this was one of my favorites. It is a topic I am really passionate about and I was waiting to find the perfect opportunity to take it on and bring attention to wildlife trade,” said McDaniel. “I’m really grateful for all the help from my professors, especially Holliday Moore, who believed in my story and was there every step of the way. This achievement is really just the cherry on top of it all, and I’m so glad people are able to hear it.”
“Wildlife Trade,” which aired on KJZZ, explored the impact illegal wildlife trade can have on the health of animals and humans, and how it can lead to zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19. When animals are stolen from the wild and placed in stressful, subpar living conditions, the animal’s immune system becomes compromised and may contract or spread diseases they typically wouldn’t.
“We’re honored for our students to be recognized by one of the country’s top collegiate journalism competitions,” said Heather Dunn, content director of Cronkite News. “As faculty, we’re very proud of the hard work our talented students put into uncovering important stories around Arizona. And a special congratulations to Caitlynn McDaniel for her Best of Festival award, the top award in the student news category.”
Here is the list of ASU’s award recipients:
Mixed/Pedagogical (Faculty Award)
Award of Excellence
Stephen Filmer, “Catalyst”
“Migrants, Deaths & Isotopes”
Educational
First Place
Molly Duerig, Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
“Operation Agent Touch”
Specialty Program & Podcasts
Second Place
Austin Fast, Howard Center for Investigative Journalism
“Covid’s Invisible Victims”
Third Place:
Anthony J. Wallace, Cronkite News
“Trust Issues and a COVID-19 vaccine trial in the Navajo Nation”
Micro-Documentary
Award of Excellence
Itzia Crespo, Karina Dominguez Casas and Luke Simmons, Arizona PBS
“Holding on to the Corn”
Award of Excellence
Luke Simmons, Cronkite News
“How a small Arizona town saved itself from the COVID-19 food crisis”
Radio Feature
First Place
Caitlynn McDaniel, KJZZ
“Wildlife Trade”
First Place
Jill Ryan, KJZZ
“One-on-One Learning in Flagstaff”
Radio Hard News
First Place
Jill Ryan, KJZZ
“School Plans for COVID-19”
Award of Excellence
Emma VandenEinde, Blaze Radio
“Vaping Dangers”
Television Short Feature Reporting
Third Place
McKenzie Allen-Charmley, Cronkite News
“Navajo Firewood”
Television Long Feature Reporting
Second Place,
Jennifer Alvarez, Cronkite News
“Wild Horses”
Second Place
Dylan McKim, Cronkite News
“Mexican Wolves Diversity”
Television Hard News Reporting
Second Place
Dylan McKim, Cronkite News
“Firefighter Cancer”
Award of Excellence
Jennifer Alvarez, Cronkite News
“Maternal Mortality”
Television News Anchor
First Place
Tyler Manion, Cronkite News
“Tyler Manion Anchor Reel”
TV Newscast (4 or 5 per week)
First Place
Alexa Fuenmayor and Chayanne Moreno, Cronkite News
“Cronkite News Nov. 9, 2020”
Radio Sports Story/Feature/News
Second Place
Jeremy Buch, Cronkite News
“16th Hole”
Award of Excellence
Mark Fieldman, Cronkite News
“ASU Golf in the Pandemic”
TV Sports Story/Feature (Short)
Second Place
Rachel Phillips, Cronkite News
“Football Voting”
Third Place
Shaun Salehi, Cronkite News
“Hockey Pucks For More”
Award of Excellence
Reed Harmon, Cronkite News
“Karstin Hollen”
Award of Excellence
Abigail Shipley, Cronkite News
“Diversity on the Mat”
TV Sports Story/Feature (Long)
Third Place
Michael Gutnick, Cronkite News
“Skating Through Adversity”
Award of Excellence
Ike Everard, The State Press
“Cody Carter: One of the Last Great Twirlers”
Award of Excellence
Rachel Phillips, Cronkite News
“Tackling For Safety”