Mustang Media Group takes home 43 awards — and joins student journalism Hall of Fame
In early March, Mustang News was inducted into the Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame, a national organization that recognizes and promotes excellence in student media.
The honor was given during the Associated Collegiate Press Spring National College Media Conference, which took place at the same time as the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Conference. Mustang Media Group (MMG) attended both.
Besides the Hall of Fame recognition, the organization received a combined total of 43 awards, including a Best Faculty Advisor for Radio award for journalism professor and KCPR advisor Patti Piburn.
Mustang News qualified for induction into ACP's Hall of Fame because the organization has earned 15 national Pacemaker and Pacemaker finalist awards since 1970. The Pacemakers are known as the Pulitzer Prizes of student journalism.
“This is a fantastic showing by all of Mustang Media Group demonstrating excellence for ALL of its branches from editorial to radio to multimedia to socials and business,” said Mustang Media Group’s General Manager Jon Schlitt. “I'm thrilled to see the students' work recognized as some of the best in the state of California as well as the nation.”
At the ACP conference, Mustang Media Group was recognized with 23 awards in total. Besides the Hall of Fame induction, MMG also received its second consecutive Student Media Business Pacemaker, which celebrates excellence on the business side of college media organizations.
The California College Media Association (CCMA) also held their annual award ceremony at the Long Beach conference. MMG proudly took home 18 awards from this competition alone, including seven first place, eight second place, and three third place awards. Most notable of the recognition was second place for Best Newspaper for schools with 15,000 or more students. Additional awards include first place recognition for categories such as Best Magazine Inside Page/Spread Design, Best Social Media Reporting, Best Spanish-Language Coverage, and more.
Besides Piburn's recognition, KCPR News Director Emmy Burrus received the Best News Director for Radio award at the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System conference.
Cal Poly Journalism Broadcast Engineer Thomas Morales was also recognized as a finalist for the Tom Gibson Award for Outstanding Radio Engineering, being recognized as in the top 2-5% of applicants for the contest.
“I’m extremely humbled to be this year’s Best College Radio News Director. Leading the Mustang News on KCPR team has truly been one of the highlights of my college career, and this team has become my second family,” said KCPR News Director Emmy Burrus, “This couldn’t have been possible without the support of my news team, my fellow KCPR managers and our incredible advisor Patti Piburn, who was awarded the title of Best Faculty Radio Advisor. The Mustang News on KCPR team would be nowhere near where it is today without Patti’s guidance.”
Want more Learn by Doing stories in your life? Sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Cal Poly News Recap!
