montanajournalism Awards, J-School

UM J-School Students Win 20 Categories in Regional SPJ Awards

University of Montana School of Journalism students have won 20 categories of the regional Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards. Below is a list of the winners and finalists from the J-School. Follow the links to see the exceptional work from students.

Photo by Ava Rosvold in Byline Magazine. Rosvold’s photography for “The Most Eloquent Prayer” won the regional SPJ Mark of Excellence Award for feature photography.

Winners:

Best All-Around Television News Magazine
Montana PBS University of Montana
“Business: Made in Montana: Homegrown & Handcrafted“

Best Independent Online Student Publication
Montana Native News Project/Missoulian
“Regaining Ground”

Breaking News Reporting (Large, 10k+ students)
Christine Compton
“Activists color Mount Sentinel’s ‘M’ as Palestine flag during Brawl of the Wild“

Corbin Gwaltney Award for Best All-Around Student Newspaper
Montana Kaimin

Editorial/Opinion Writing
Emily Tschetter, Montana Kaimin

Feature Photography
Ava Rosvold, Byline Magazine
“The Most Eloquent Prayer“

Feature Writing (Large, 10k+ students)
Nance Beston, Aislin Tweedy, Byline Magazine
“A Light In the Dark“

Food/Restaurant Journalism
Corbin Vanderby, Montana Kaimin
“To eat or not to eat: The Food Zoo under review“

General News Reporting (Large, 10k+ students)
Alex Mitchell, Kennedy Delap, Native News Honors Project/Missoulian
“With Land Comes Water“

Illustration
Barrett Clement, Montana Kaimin
“Twenty years Under the Big Sky“

In-Depth Reporting (Large, 10k+ students)
Haley Yarborough, Chris Lodman, Montana Native News Project/Missoulian
“The Long Return“

Photo Essay/Slideshow
Nance Beston
“A Light In the Dark“

Podcast (Narrative)
Clay Murphy, The Kaimin Cast
“The Carillonneur“

Radio Feature
Madeline Jorden, KUFM-Montana Public Radio
Feminist Bird Club

Radio In-Depth Reporting
Clayton Murphy, KBGA College Radio
“Innocence Project”

Radio News Reporting
Madeline Jorden, KBGA College Radio
“Smallmouth Bass Discovery”

Science/Environment/Climate Reporting
Chloe Olsgaard, Andy Mepham, Native News Honors Project/Missoulian
“Guardians of Ninnahstako“

Sports Photography
Ava Rosvold, Bozeman Daily Chronicle
“Roundup Bull Rider“

Sports Writing (Large, 10k+ students)
Holly Malkowski, Montana Kaimin
“Playing on Overtime“

Television Feature Reporting
Meghan Fatouros, KBZK
“Cowgirl Yoga“

Finalists:

Best Ongoing Student Magazine
Byline Magazine

Byline Magazine cover photo by Kennedy Delap


Breaking News Reporting (Large, 10k+ students)
Griffen Smith, Montana Kaimin
“Update: Aber Hall residents temporarily relocated after flood“

Campus Reporting
Vivien Felker, Haven Sager, Claire Bernard, Montana Kaimin
Covering academics

Feature Photography
Tanner Ecker, Montana Athletics
Street football

Feature Writing (Large, 10k+ students)
Meghan Elaine Fatouros, Byline Magazine
“The Most Eloquent Prayer“

Radio News Reporting
Sage Sutcliffe, KBGA College Radio
Wilderness Dam Removal

Sports Photography
Lukas Prinos, Montana Standard
Knockout

montanajournalism Awards, Feature, J-School

Student-Produced Film, ‘Tomorrow’s Town Today,’ Chosen as Official Selection at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

A film produced in a collaborative course with Journalism and Media Arts students at the University of Montana is an official selection of the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and four other festivals. “Tomorrow’s Town Today” tells the story of high school seniors in Colstrip, Montana as they, and their town, try to discover their futures.

Directed by senior Halley Linscheid and produced by alumna Matti Olson, the film reveals the promise and the peril of a town built around the coal industry. Students traveled to Colstrip several times in the Spring 2023 semester to document the major events and day-to-day life of the eastern Montana town. The film closely follows high schoolers through sports, home life and the prom as they decide what comes after graduation.

Journalism Professor Denise Dowling and Media Arts Professor Ryan Weibush taught the documentary film production course in the collaboration between the schools. Dowling said it was fascinating to watch the students work together, each bringing their backgrounds and sensibilities.

“Journalism students focused on truth-telling and news value while Media Arts students brought their creativity and visual design to the course,” Dowling said. “The students very much learned from each other and the resulting film is a fabulous blend.”

The film was selected as part of the Made In Montana film strand at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival scheduled for February 16-25, 2024. It has also been accepted to the Berlin Indie Film Festival, the Bozeman International Film Festival, the Flathead Lake International Cinemafest and the Winterland Film Festival in Whitefish.