COLLEGE PARK — Student journalists from the University of Maryland and Philip Merrill College of Journalism had a strong showing when the Society of Professional Journalists announced its Region 2 2025 Mark of Excellence Awards.
UMD students won eight awards and added 10 finalists across 13 categories, spanning print/online, photography/videography/art/graphics/multimedia, broadcast and all platform competitions. The recognized projects were from Merrill College's Capital News Service and CNS TV, and The Diamondback.
SPJ Region 2 includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia. First-place winners will compete at the national level among other MOE winners from the 12 SPJ regions. National winners will be notified in late spring.
Sixteen individual students were honored, in addition to the staffs of CNS and CNS TV.
CNS TV won in the Best All-Around Television Newscast category for coverage of the end of the federal government shutdown.
CNS won the investigative journalism award for the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism’s “Off the Rails” investigation into the North American railroad industry, done in collaboration with several other partners. CNS was also a finalist for Best Affiliated Website.
Four students earned multiple honors — Eddy Calkins, Molecule Jongwilai, Zion Williams and Ben Wolf. Each student won once and was named a finalist once.
CNS won the In-Depth Reporting competition for "Maryland’s surprising role in implementing Trump’s immigration agenda," by students Aline Behar Kado, Haley Parsley and Raphael Romero Ruiz. CNS also won for Best Use of Multimedia, Data Visualization, Television Breaking News Reporting, Television General News Reporting and Television In-Depth Reporting.
Here is the complete list of winners and finalists from UMD:
Print/Online
Best Affiliated Website
Finalist: Capital News Service — Staff, Capital News Service
Breaking News Reporting (Large, 10k+ students)
Finalist: Officials switch from rescue to recovery at site of deadly American Airlines crash — Emma Tufo, Sasha Allen, Adrianna Navarro, Capital News Service
Finalist: At the Department of Education, protests – and warnings – over firings — Tolu Talabi, Capital News Service
General News Reporting (Large, 10k+ students)
Finalist: Hundreds honor legacy of Lt. Richard Collins III at annual service day — Amelia Twyman, The Diamondback
In-Depth Reporting (Large, 10k+ students)
Winner: Maryland’s surprising role in implementing Trump’s immigration agenda — Aline Behar Kado, Haley Parsley, Raphael Romero Ruiz, Capital News Service
Photography, Videography, Art, Graphics and Multimedia
Best Use of Multimedia
Winner: Here’s who Donald Trump has granted clemency to this year — Cat Murphy, Capital News Service
Finalist: Crackdown on international students continues with threats on F-1 visas — Sophia da Silva, Molecule Jongwilai, Capital News Service
Data Visualization
Winner: Spooky season isn’t just in October: Examining the data around horror movies — by Molecule Jongwilai, Capital News Service
Finalist: UMD spent more than $136,000 on event security for Oct. 7, 2024 — Apurva Mahajan, The Diamondback
Photo Essay/Slideshow
Finalist: Maryland football falls short against UCLA at the Rose Bowl — Akash Raghu, The Diamondback
Broadcast
Best All-Around Television Newscast
Winner: Government reopens — by Staff, CNS TV
Television Breaking News Reporting
Winner: Key Bridge findings — Eddy Calkins, CNS TV
Television Feature Reporting
Finalist: Local Jeopardy! winner — Eddy Calkins, CNS TV
Finalist: Teen creation station — Ben Wolf, CNS TV
Television General News Reporting
Winner: Grocery store beer — Zion Williams, CNS TV
Finalist: Cattle decline — Zion Williams, CNS TV
Television In-Depth Reporting
Winner: Thermopact mouthguard — Ben Wolf, CNS TV
All Platforms
Investigative Reporting
Winner: Off The Rails — Staff, Capital News Service
For more information, contact:
Josh Land
joshland@umd.edu
301-405-1321