J-School Students, Curb Magazine Win 2023 SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards

On April 9, the Society of Professional Journalists Region 6 announced its winners of the 2023 Mark of Excellence Awards and 12 awards were given to J-School students. This award recognizes excellence in collegiate journalism across several categories including print, art/graphics/multimedia, radio and television broadcast. SPJ’s Region 6 represents Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin and winners in each category will go on to compete at the national level among other winners from SPJ’s 12 regions.

Congratulations to all J-School students and the Curb magazine team for their excellent work! A full list of J-School and Curb winners is as follows:

Print/Online

Breaking News Reporting (Large school)
Winner: Tyler Katzenberger, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Starbucks denies ban on Pride decor reported by employees at 2 Madison stores and the national union

General News Reporting (Large school)
Finalist: Rachel Hale, The Daily Cardinal – Jewish students found community after the Oct. 7 attacks. But for many, loneliness persists

In-Depth Reporting
Winner: Sophia Vento, Isthmus – ‘It doesn’t have to stay like this’
Finalist: Audrey Thibert, Pulitzer Center – A shared uncertainty: Migration stories from Tunisia
Finalist: Rachel Hale, Wisconsin Watch – Moms for Liberty is growing in Wisconsin as critics call them extremists

Feature Writing (Large school)
Winner: Rachel Hale, Curb Magazine – Buzzer-beater

Sports Writing:
Finalist: Xinlin (Grace) Jiang, UW-Madison News – A rookie’s guide to navigating football frenzy

Corbin Gwaltney Award for Best All-Around Student Newspaper (Large school)
Winner: The Daily Cardinal

Best Ongoing Student Magazine
Winner: Curb: Fusion

Best Affiliated Website
Winner: Curb: Fusion

Broadcast

Television Breaking News Reporting
Winner: Meryl Hubbard, Channel 3000 – Fatal car crash brings unexpected first responders

All Platforms

Investigative Reporting
Winner: Tyler Katzenberger, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Evers took down a records tracking site and never put it back up

Regional Political Reporting
Winner: Tyler Katzenberger, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Voter education group works to pierce distrust in elections in Wisconsin, one meeting at a time