News

 
The Alestle, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s student news organization, recently won 18 national awards during MediaFest 25, the annual convention for student journalists and industry professionals sponsored by the Associated Collegiate Press and College Media Association, held this year in Washington, D.C.

The Alestle won first place in five CMA Pinnacle Awards — Arts and Entertainment Story (Audio/Video): Tahzive Avi Islam; Investigative Story: Dylan Hembrough, Brandi Spann and Chloe Wolfe for their salary sweeps investigation; Column: Dylan Hembrough; Best Editorial: Alestle Staff; and Best Advertising Special Section for its 2025 Survival Guide.

The Alestle also won two second-place Pinnacle awards — for general excellence as Periodic Newspaper of the Year and for Hembrough’s general news story on housing media policy.

The staff brought home two third place awards for Hembrough’s breaking news story on the physics open forum, and T. Weltzin won third place for their editorial cartoon work.

There were several honorable mentions as well — Feature Story: Chloe Wolfe, Dylan Hembrough; Podcast: Hannah Ledford, Chloe Wolfe; Sports Column: Sam Muren; Game Story: Audrey O’Renic and Multimedia Sports Story: Audrey O’Renic.

While at the convention, The Alestle also collected awards from the Associated Collegiate Press in their annual individual awards competition and their convention Best of Show awards. Chloe Wolfe and Dylan Hembrough won third place in the Story of the Year competition for Best Feature Story. Hembrough also won fifth place in the Story of the Year competition for Best Breaking News Story.

The staff won seventh place for Best Newspaper/Newsmagazine for four-year campuses with 15,000 or fewer students and 9th place in Best of Show for Best Website.

“Overall, I‘m beyond proud of this staff, their accomplishments and their capabilities. We had some stiff competition and we still held our own,” Alestle Editor-in-Chief Dylan Hembrough said. “The most meaningful one to me, personally, was the first-place award for our investigative story on salary sweeps. We put so much blood, sweat and tears into that story, and I think it really is a testament to what The Alestle is capable of.”

“This year’s collection of awards shows the recent evolution of The Alestle to really focus on its writing and content in addition to design elements. The general excellence awards are particularly impressive. They have a lot to be proud of,” Student Publications Program Director Tammy Merrett said. 

PHOTO:  Student Publications Program Director Tammy Merrett (left) and The Alestle staff