Awards

The Magazine Media Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication is proud to announce the winners of its 2024 research paper competition, honored and celebrated in Philadelphia at AEJMC24.

“Empowered narratives: How BLK magazine used advocacy journalism to represent Black LGBTQ people during the AIDS epidemic,” by Newly Paul, an assistant professor at University of North Texas, received honors as Top Faculty Paper.

Top Student Paper was awarded to Lydia Cheng, a doctoral candidate at University of Sydney, for her work, “Who are lifestyle journalists? Theorising the normative, cognitive, and narrated roles of lifestyle journalists.”

“Helpful or Hurtful: Legacy magazine journalism continues to wrestle with the advent of AI technology in the newsroom,” earned Second Place Faculty Paper for a team of three researchers: Adam Pitluk, Assistant Professor, Coastal Carolina; Jennifer Wilson Assistant Professor, and Jeff Inman, Associate Professor, Drake.

The division also honored Mackenzie Cato, Assistant Profesor, Kennesaw State, for Top Extended Abstract, “Goodbye, Bitch Magazine: A Qualitative Analysis of Letters from the HQ.”

The Magazine Media division thanks all authors for their outstanding submissions and thanks all reviewers for their hard work and thoughtful commentary during the contest process.

AEJMC Student Magazine Contest 2025 | Magazine Media Division

This was a robust year for the Student Magazine Contest with 186 total entries, up from 137 last year. Schools entered in 11 different categories - including the three new categories of culture writing, multimedia, and social storytelling. We received entries from 18 different schools.

The contest was judged by 14 working journalists who volunteered their time and expertise. They awarded first through third places in all categories, as well as honorable mentions as they deemed appropriate. Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all who entered!

GENERAL EXCELLENCE

Winner: Ponder (Issue III); Ponder Magazine Staff; Black Hills State University

Second place: The Review of Journalism; Review of Journalism Staff; Toronto Metropolitan University

Third place: Vox (April issue); Vox Staff; University of Missouri

Honorable mention: Ascend; Staff of Ascend Magazine; University of Oregon

DESIGN

Winner: Zipped, Winter 2024; Zipped Staff; Syracuse University

Second place: The Planet: 45th Anniversary Anthology; Julia Hawkins, Kylie La Tour-Telles, Abby Sheets and Katie Butler; Western Washington University

Third place: Ponder, Issue II; Ponder Magazine Staff, Black Hills State University

Honorable mention: Align Magazine, The New Frontier Issue; Staff of Align Magazine; University of Oregon

CULTURE

Winner: Preserved in smoke and stone; Delia Rose Sauer; University of Florida

Second place: Godfather of Chicano Theater; Blanca Esthela Castañeda García; Southwestern College

Third place: How a Columbia teacher secretly penned one of the earliest lesbian autobiographies; Mercy Austin, University of Missouri

DEI

Winner: Don't Read the Comments; Jay Ashdown; Toronto Metropolitan University

Second place: Female interns speak out on bias and double standards within SU Football; Lily Newman; Syracuse University

Third place: Black Bylines in the Crossfire; Hannah White; Southern Methodist University

Honorable mention: The Buffalo Bandits Embrace Lacrosse's Indigenous Roots; Charlie Fellows and Nick Yang; Syracuse University

ESSAY

Winner: Drawing the Line; Alexia Baggetta; Toronto Metropolitan University

Second place: A Sign Upon Your Arm; Finn Kurtz; Western Washington University

Third place: Sticky Notes; Lauren Brensel; University of Florida

Honorable mention: Love, Loss & Déjà Vu; Ella Gage; Western Washington University

FEATURE

Winner: Taming the Beast; Alissa Gary; University of Florida

Second place: Behind the Arc; Ruby Wool; University of Oregon

Third place: Ever Ditched A Couch on the Curb? Here's Where it Ended; Sophie Cadran; Western Washington University

PROFILE

Winner: Meet the Green Thumb Behind SMU's Garden Glow Up; Ellen Rogers; Southern Methodist University

Second place: Till The Wheels Fall Off; Nathan Feller, Caleb Minor, Hunter Davis and Rae Hanzlik; Black Hills State University

Third place: Shireen's Pitch; Soraya El-houni; Toronto Metropolitan University

Honorable mentions (3): Words in motion by Luena Rodriguez-Feo Vileira, University of Florida, How a Columbia teacher secretly penned one of the earliest lesbian autobiographies by Mercy Austin, University of Missouri; Against the current by Riley Fox, University of Oregon

REPORTING

Winner: Life and death of a Florida abortion clinic; Siena Duncan; University of Florida

Second place: Barred from the story; Reema Najjar; Toronto Metropolitan University

Third place: What will Gen Z do with American elections; Abigail Ramirez; University of Missouri

Honorable mention: Understanding Food Insecurity at SU; Lily Newman; Syracuse University

SERVICE

Winner: The Art Lovers' Buying Guide; Maddie Miller; Southern Methodist University

Second place: Surviving the Housing Crisis; Trinity Balboa, Cyan Carey, Riley Nguyen, Camron Hinkle; Columbia College Chicago

Third place: To Post or Not to Post: That is the Question; Grace Bair; Southern Methodist University

Honorable mention: Don't Call Me DANGEROUS; Trent Weston; Toronto Metropolitan University

MULTIMEDIA

Winner: Unlocking New York; the Unlocking New York staff; Syracuse University

Second place: On the Bandwagon; On the Bandwagon staff; Syracuse University

Third place: Out of the wild: Untamed horses find their home; Vox Staff; University of Missouri

SOCIAL STORYTELLING

Winner: Brewing Peace; Spencer Arps; Western Washington University

Second place: Black Bylines in the Crossfire (video); Hannah White; Southern Methodist University

Third place: Why Vox Loves Columbia: Ep. 2; Claire Williams; University of Missouri

Honorable mention: Subaru Owners; Lizzy Calvo and Beth Dawkins; Syracuse University

AEJMC Student Magazine Contest 2024 | Magazine Media Division

GENERAL EXCELLENCE

Winner: El Sol, Nicolette Monique Luna, Alexa Lima, Alfonso Julián Camacho and Ivan Medida, Southwestern College
Runner-up: Flux, Flux staff, University of Oregon

Judges: Richard Just, former editor, Washington Post Magazine, and Stephen George, editorial director, Discover Magazine

DESIGN

Winner: Zipped, Zipped staff, Syracuse University
Runner-up: Ponder, Ashley Beguin, Bridget Schneller and Noah Westergaard, Black Hills State University

Judges: Trevett McCandliss and Nancy Campbell, owners of McCandliss and Campbell design

ESSAY

Winner:  “Finding myself in the memory of my mother” by Maylis Laverne, Western Washington University
Runner-up: “Transplant” by Lindee Walker, University of Florida
Judges: Lea Konczal, digital copy editor and web producer, Texas Monthly

SERVICE

Winner: “True/False tour guide: Choose your own festival adventure” by Maya Dawson, University of Missouri

Runner-up: “From mine to scrapyard” by TJ Jenkins, Armando Ramirez and Kevin McAndrews, University of Oregon

Judge: Tara Cox, managing editor, Real Simple

FEATURES

Winner: “The Atlantic sojourner” by Sophia Abolfathi, University of Florida
Runner-up:  “Inside the warehouse that builds machines to liquify dead bodies” by Helen Bradshaw, Northwestern University

Judges: Megan Greenwell, freelance editor/writer, and Robert Sanchez, senior writer, 5280 Magazine

PROFILE

Winner: “I'd never seen a gun before. Days later, I fired one.” by Heather Bushman, University of Florida

Runner-up: “Bigfoot Seekers” by Lily Lum, Sammy Pierotti and Evan Susswood, University of Oregon

Judges: Mark Jannot, story editor, New York Times Magazine, and Abby Johnston, partnerships editor, The 19th

PLACES

Winner: “Lost in Buckeye” by Taylor Schmitt, Rylee Fels, Lucy Caile, Brooke Muckerman, Cela Migan, Olivia Gyapong and Kristin Kuchno, University of Missouri
Runner-up: “Preserving the Past” by Bart Brewer, University of Oregon

Judge: Nitish Pahwa, associate writer, Slate

REPORTING

Winner: “We're still there: Homeownership has an impact across generations” by Maggie Trovato, University of Missouri

Runner-up: “Lost in Buckeye” by Taylor Schmitt, Rylee Fels, Lucy Caile, Brooke Muckerman, Cela Migan, Olivia Gyapong and Kristin Kuchno, University of Missouri

Judge: Will Leitch, contributing writer, New York Magazine

DEI

Winner: “Liquid bodies, soft hearts” by Luena Rodriguez-Feo Vileira, University of Florida 
Runner-up: “Our joy and our magic and our chaos” by Matthew Phillips, Western Washington University

Judge: Tara Donaldson, executive editor, WWD

The Division honors an Educator of the Year and a Professional of the Year in alternating years.

To view former winners and judges' comments, go to our archived page.