The Election Project, Student Journalists Win Big at 2025 Southeast Journalism Conference
Students in the School of Journalism and Media earned several awards for their reporting coverage including Best Public Service Journalism for The Election Project and Best TV Station at the 2025 Southeast Journalism Conference
The Election Project won “Best in the South” in public service journalism at the 2025 Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC).
A collaborative reporting initiative between the School of Journalism and Media and The Media Center at the College of Communication and Information, the Election Project gave students invaluable hands-on experience in election reporting while also educating the public on the 2024 presidential election and other civics topics.
“The collaboration that we saw on the Election Project was just so wonderful to see,” said Brittany Tarwater, School of Journalism and Media assistant professor of practice and The Volunteer Channel (TVC) advisor. “That was just really spectacular work and then to be recognized for the best public service project, I mean that’s what we’re here to do. It was just such an honor.”
The public service journalism award is one of several that student journalists from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, took home while attending SEJC in February, including four more first-place wins.
UT student journalists competed against their peers from across the Southeast including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and other schools in Tennessee for the opportunity to be named the “Best in the South” in a variety of media disciplines.
“I like to view journalism as a public service in general,” Grey Macnicoll, senior journalism and media major and TVC executive producer, said. “So, getting first place in the public service journalism category just holds so much weight in my heart, because that’s why we do this. It’s amazing.”
Nick Geidner, professor and The Media Center director, hopes to build on the momentum of the Election Project this spring with another collaborative effort focused on the opioid epidemic. Students plan to use the recognition as motivation to deepen their commitment to serve the community.
“Winning the public service award means so much to me because that’s the whole reason why I wanted to go into journalism,” Kylia Berry, senior journalism and media major and TVC managing editor, said. “I think the future is bright.”
Berry said, for many of the students who worked on the Election Project, it was their first time covering a presidential election. She thinks the collaborative approach to storytelling was a good step in advancing the journalism and media program and showcased that students are capable of impactful storytelling if they receive the right support and resources.
Award-Winning Reporting
School of Journalism and Media senior Pierce Gentry hoped his reporting would earn him an award at SEJC.
But nothing prepared the WUOT 91.9 FM reporter to receive three first-place awards in a row for his work at East Tennessee’s NPR affiliate. The moment was only made sweeter for the senior because he got to celebrate these accomplishments alongside his UT peers.
“I just felt absolute pride,” Gentry said. “The Volunteer Channel took home awards. The Daily Beacon took home awards. It was just so incredible to see in my final year all the work that not only myself, but all my peers have been putting out get acknowledged. That is just amazing.”
In addition to the Election Project and Gentry, TVC won a first place award for Best TV Station. Junior journalism and media major and TVC assistant managing editor Gracyn Thatcher said TVC being recognized was especially significant for the station.
She said a lot of the work judged for the competition was completed within a semester thanks to the tireless work of the entire team. She said creating award-winning projects would not have been possible without faculty support and all of it is uplifting as the upperclassmen look to the future of student media on campus.
“The awards give us some external validation that we’re going in the right direction,” Geidner said. “I think more than anything these awards are great for our students. It gives them things that they can put on their résumé and show potential employers that their work is really good.”
The full list of award winners from UT include:
“Best of the South” Awards
Best Public Service Journalism
● 1st Place, The Election Project (School of Journalism and Media and The Media Center)
Best Radio News Reporter
● 1st Place, Pierce Gentry (WUOT)
Best Radio Feature Reporter
● 1st Place, Pierce Gentry (WUOT)
Best Radio Journalist
● 1st Place, Pierce Gentry (WUOT)
Best TV Station
● 1st Place, TVC
Best Editorial-Opinion Writer
● 2nd Place, Ansley Graves (The Daily Beacon)
Best Video Newscast
● 3rd Place, TVC
Journalist Of The Year
● 5th Place, Kylia Berry (TVC)
Best Special Events Reporter
● Honorable Mention, Emma Love Johnston (The Daily Beacon)
2025 Onsite Competition
TV News Reporting
● 1st Place, Maddie Romak and Kylia Berry (TVC)
Public Relations
● 2nd Place, Caden Dyer (The Daily Beacon)
The Election Project, Student Journalists Win Big at 2025 Southeast Journalism Conference written by Ernest Rollins and originally published on the College of Communication & Information site.