Muleskinner Receives Awards in Two National Competitions

Muleskinner Editor in Chief Sadie Staker receives a Pinnacle Award for second place on
Oct. 17 at the College Media Association’s MediaFest Convention.

 

The Muleskinner, the University of Central Missouri’s (UCM) student newspaper, received several awards at the Fall 2025 National College Media Association’s MediaFest Convention, hosted Oct. 15-18 in Washington, D.C.

 

“I’m incredibly proud to see our Muleskinner students’ hard work and storytelling recognized on the national stage,” said Julie Lewis, Ph.D., Muleskinner adviser and associate professor. “Their commitment to quality journalism and community connection reflects the very best of UCM’s spirit and mission.”

The Muleskinner received three awards in the Associated Collegiate Press’s Best of Show competition: 10th place in the Newspaper/Newsmagazine category for its September 2025 print edition, 10th place in the Website category and seventh place in the Digital Newsletter category. The Muleskinner competed against four-year colleges with a population of 15,000 or fewer. 

 

"I'm so honored to be part of a team as hard-working as ours. Every single person put their heart into this paper and the results speak for themselves,” Muleskinner Features Editor Jess Cooper said.

The Muleskinner also received a Pinnacle Award, which is the College Media Association’s highest honor for student work. Muleskinner students Sadie Staker and Krish Gyawali won second place in the Feature Package (audio/video) category for their video titled “Backpack Journalism: Missouri River Runner Sparks Community Connections.” The Muleskinner competed in Division 1, which is for schools with a student population of more than 10,000. 

 

“I was excited and surprised that we placed so well,” Muleskinner Editor in Chief Sadie Staker said. “The story we were able to tell through our video, which explored the reasons why Missourians use Amtrak, was meaningful and highlighted the wonderful community that exists across Missouri.”

The video was part of the Muleskinner’s Backpack Journalism Project, in which student journalists collaborated with Amtrak and the Missouri River Runner to provide traveling coverage of Missouri cities throughout the 2024-25 school year.

 

“The University of Central Missouri's mission is to improve our geographical area, not only for our students, but for the entire region,” said David Pearce, executive director of Governmental Relations. “Their efforts through the Backpack Journalism project positively impacted our region and contributed to the positive image of UCM and higher education.”

 

The Muleskinner team gathers to celebrate UCM Homecoming in October.