From comics to photography, K-State’s Collegian Media Group brought home top honors at the nation’s largest student media conference.
K-State’s Collegian Media Group collectively earned 15 awards for the K-State Collegian, Royal Purple Yearbook and Manhappenin’ Magazine at the national MediaFest 2025.
The K-State Collegian was awarded second place in the College Media Association Organizational Pinnacle. This is the highest overall mark the publication has received in the last decade.
“It’s incredibly impressive to place second in the country against schools two or three times bigger than K-State in the CMA Organizational category for best weekly newspaper,” said CMG director Spencer O’Daniel. “We have over a dozen returners from last year’s team, so the expectations for this year’s Collegian staff are much higher and include winning a Pacemaker this time next fall.”
K-State Collegian managing editor Libby Zuck had a great experience for her second year at the convention.
“It’s been very insightful,” said Zuck. “This time around when attending the conference, I’ve been listening to my peers’ advice and experiences being a young journalist. It has helped us with new ideas for our newspaper and website to make them reader-friendly for all at K-State.”
Participation in K-State’s CMG is an opportunity for students in every major to express their talents. Engineering major and K-State Collegian photographer Payton Lee attended the national convention and was awarded for his snowstorm feature photo.
“As an engineering student, there aren’t a lot of parallels to news media, so I’ve had a lot to learn in the past year,” said Lee. “I never really thought about photography — I just do it and see what happens, because I enjoy the process. Being recognized for that is both exciting and humbling.”
K-State’s CMG students earned many other awards, from Toby Hammes’ second place Best Interactive/Motion Graphic to Jacob Bush’s first-place Best Comic. Everyone has high hopes for the next convention, and rightfully so.
By Kate Ellwood
Curated from Collegian Media Group brings home multiple national awards from ACP MediaFest in D.C.