UT Student Media Organizations Win CMA Individual Pinnacle Awards
The Daily Beacon won a second-place 2023 CMA Individual Pinnacle Award for best special section, four pages or less., for its piece focusing on the impact of the “12th man” during the Tennessee Volunteers’ win over Alabama in October 2022.
Ablaze magazine and The Daily Beacon won three College Media Association Individual Pinnacle Awards last week during the 2023 Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Association Fall National College Media Convention.
“It’s exciting to see The Daily Beacon and Ablaze represent the University of Tennessee, Knoxville at the College Media Association convention,” Office of Student Media Advisor Kylie Irvine said. “We are seeing passionate students step into roles where they can expand their skillsets and, in turn, showcase their work at conventions like CMA. Passion is an ingredient for strong student journalism, and it’s exciting to work with students passionate about telling a story well.”
The Daily Beacon won a second-place CMA Pinnacle Award for best special section, four pages or less. Irvine said the winning piece focused on the impact of the “12th man” during the Tennessee Volunteers’ win over Alabama in October 2022.
Four Daily Beacon editors contributed to this special section: former Sports Editor Andrew Peters, current Assistant Sports Editor Eric Woods, former News Editor Autumn Hall and former Arts & Culture Editor Emma Coffey. Contributor Nolan Keesee took the photos and Bella Hughes, former design editor and current managing editor, designed the special section.”
Ablaze also won a second-place CMA Pinnacle Award for best magazine news page/spread. Irvine said the spread is from the inaugural edition of Ablaze Magazine printed in May 2023 and focuses on ‘The Current State of Education’. Taylor Pearson designed the spread using photos by Maddingly Cotton and an article by Alexius Brunson.
In addition, The Daily Beacon received an honorable mention in the best enterprise coverage of diversity category for Beacon alum Daniel Dassow’s piece ‘UT faculty, staff work with Native Nations to return ancestors home and rethink representation’.
“When Daily Beacon and Ablaze students compete in the College Media Association’s annual Pinnacle awards, they are sharing their work alongside the best of the best in college media,” Irvine said. “There are hundreds of media outlets composed of thousands of students in the United States, and it’s always an honor to be chosen out of those who submit their work to represent the best of the academic year.”
Best in the Southeast
Along with winning CMA Pinnacle Awards, The Daily Beacon also won regionally as part of the 2023 Green Eyeshade Awards earlier this year.
The contest recognizes the best journalism in the southeast. While it is primarily geared towards professional outlets, there is a student division. The Daily Beacon staff won the following awards:
- Best Feature Writer — First Place, Daniel Dassow
- Best Designer — First Place, Bella Hughes
- Best Sports Reporter — Second Place, Andrew Peters
- Best Columnist — Third Place, Walker Kinsler
“There is a higher sense of competition to the Green Eyeshades as the students compete against SEC rivals such as the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia,” Irvine said. “These schools are some of the most comparable to our set-up at UT, so it is an honor to compete against Division I-level publications.”