Ball State University’s student media organizations have once again been recognized among the best in the nation.
Recently, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) awarded The Ball State Daily News with its highest annual honor, a Gold Crown Award, at its College Media Convention in New York. The Daily News was one of just five student newspaper publications nationwide to earn Gold Crown status in the “Hybrid News” category.
Meanwhile, Ball Bearings, Ball State’s student-run magazine, and Byte, a student-run multimedia entertainment and pop culture publication, each earned Silver Crown awards from the CSPA. Ball Bearings was one of just four publications to earn Silver recognition in the Hybrid Magazine category, while Byte was one of just three publications nationally to earn Silver recognition in the Digital Magazine category.
In addition, The Daily News recently placed sixth nationally among weekly news publications in the “Best in Show” competition at the Associated Collegiate Press’ Spring National College Media Conference in San Francisco.
“Over the years, our student media teams have earned countless state and national awards, and it might be easy to take that success for granted. But each year, each new team has to come together and commit to excellence, and even at that nothing is guaranteed. I’m so proud of these teams and the work they do every single day, and I’m happy for them that they get to be celebrated for it,” said Lisa Renze, manager of unified media in Ball State’s College of Communication, Information, and Media. “Truly, they inspire me every day, and I’m so lucky to get to work with them.”
These recent awards from the CSPA and Associated Collegiate Press are among many recent awards and accolades earned by Ball State student journalists. In October, The Daily News, Ball Bearings, and the McKinley Avenue Agency—an on-campus student-run communications, media, and advertising agency—earned more than three dozen combined awards announced during the MediaFest22 journalism conference in Washington, D.C.
Additionally, three Ball State student publications— Ball Bearings (formerly Echo) magazine, The Daily News, and the now-retired Orient Yearbook—were selected by the Associated Collegiate Press for the Top 100 Pacemaker list, recognizing the organization’s best national publications of all-time. A Pacemaker is widely recognized as the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism.
Among the many awards won by Ball State student media, announced at MediaFest22:
- The Daily News was one of only 19 newspapers in the country to earn a Pacemaker. This was the fourth year in a row that The Daily News had earned a Pacemaker.
- Ball Bearings magazine earned a second-place 2021-22 Pinnacle Award, in the nationwide category of Four-Year Feature Magazine of the Year, from the College Media Association.
- The McKinley Avenue Agency earned a first-place 2021-22 Pinnacle Award, in the Display Ad category, from the College Media Association. The agency designs display ads for The Daily News and Ball Bearings magazine.
Housed within CCIM, Ball State’s independent student media programs offer opportunities to gain industry experience; express creativity; connect with like-minded students; network with professionals; and engage in meaningful professional development and service.
For more information about Ball State’s award-winning student media programs, call 765-285-6000 or email
ccim@bsu.edu.