Professor Brant Houston to be honored at Investigative Reporters & Editors 50th anniversary gala

September 15, 2025 Update 9/19/2025: Pictured above: Professor Brant Houston, left, is honored with awardees Lea Thompson and James B. Steele (far right), with host Scott Pelley, correspondent for 60 Minutes. (Photo by Nathalie Schueller.) The Investigative Reporters and Editors 50th Anniversary Gala raised $1.5 million for journalism training. See more photos from the event. […]

Media faculty and TAs make list of teachers ranked as excellent

September 3, 2025 Updated 9/22/2025 to include Summer 2025 results. Congratulations to all the College of Media faculty and teaching assistants who were ranked as excellent by their students! This list is based on Instructor and Course Evaluation System questionnaire forms completed by students during the Spring 2025 and Summer 2025 semesters. Only those instructors […]

2025-2026 student award and scholarship recipients

August 26, 2025 Updated May 19, 2026 Congratulations to these College of Media students who received campus and college awards and honors, and scholarships and fellowships that were made possible thanks to our donors. HONORS Bronze TabletInscription on the Bronze Tablets in the Main Library recognizes students ranking in the top three percent of their graduating class. […]

Associate professor of advertising Leona Yi-Fan Su selected for 2025-26 Emerging Research Leaders Academy 

August 18, 2025 Leona Yi-Fan Su, associate professor of advertising and a faculty affiliate at the Institute of Communications Research, was selected by the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute for the 2025-2026 Emerging Research Leaders Academy. The ERLA allows mid-career researchers to refine their goals, make connections, and develop skills to strategically lead collaborative, multi-investigator research […]

Journalism alum, ocean expert Annie Crawley wins 2025 Illini Comeback Award

August 14, 2025 Annie Crawley (BS ’90, journalism) was one of two recipients to win the University of Illinois Alumni Association’s 2025 Illini Comeback Award. Crawley, a.k.a. “Ocean Annie,” is a pioneering underwater filmmaker, environmental photojournalist, author, and ocean advocate whose career spans more than three decades.   She has become a driving force for […]

Students in Media Entrepreneurship course win ‘Graphic Design USA’ magazine’s 2025 American Digital Design Award 

July 23, 2025 Four students in the Spring 2025 ADV 409: Media Entrepreneurship course won 2025 American Digital Design Awards presented by Graphic Design USA magazine. Alessandra Lopez, Macy Miller, Ben Riseman, and Emmanuel Tinajero, all 2025 graduates in advertising, were seniors at the time of the class.  The students created a comprehensive pitch deck for a […]

‘En Vivo Contigo’ wins first place for 2025 Ñ Award from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists

July 17, 2025 En Vivo Contigo, the first all-Spanish news broadcast on the student-run UI7 Newsroom, won first place for the Ñ Award from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in the category of Student Broadcast Journalism. The award-winning segment featured an interview conducted by Emilio Reyes (BS ’25, journalism) with Salvatore Callesano, assistant professor […]

Students recognized for outstanding work in Hearst Journalism Awards Program

May 20, 2025 A group of University of Illinois students have been recognized for their outstanding work in the 2024-25 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. Update June 12, 2025: Congratulations to two journalism students for their outstanding accomplishments at the Hearst National Championships! Layli Nazarova won first place and a $10,000 scholarship award in Hearst’s National […]

Illinois Student Newsroom at IPM staff win Society of Professional Journalists Awards

June 2, 2025 Illinois Student Newsroom at Illinois Public Media members and journalism students Madison Holcomb and Layli Nazarova were named 2024 Mark of Excellence Awards winners in the audio category in their region by the Society of Professional Journalists. SPJ’s Region 5 comprises collegiate journalists within Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. Holcomb, a senior, was […]

Alum Murray Kalis wins 2025 College of Media Distinguished Alumni Award 

May 21, 2025 | Kelly Youngblood For his outstanding career accomplishments and generous monetary support of advertising students, Murray Kalis (BS ’61) was recognized by the College of Media with the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award.  Kalis, whose work has taken him across the world and back, heading his own agency, and serving as chair of […]

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