UFCJC Student Journalists and Alumni Honored in 2026 Florida Society of News Editors Journalism Contest
University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications student journalists and recent graduates from WUFT, Fresh Take Florida, Atrium Magazine, Grandstand Magazine and The Independent Florida Alligator were recognized in the 2026 Florida Society of News Editors (FSNE) Journalism Contest.
The annual FSNE Journalism Contest recognizes the best work across Florida’s newspaper industry.
Student competition winners include:
- Breaking News Reporting: First Place, Sara-James Ranta, “Florida Appeals Court Decision Allows Openly Carrying Guns,” Fresh Take Florida
- Enterprise Writing: First Place, Kylie Williams, B.S. Journalism 2024, “Beluga Sturgeon are Vanishing from their Home Seas – So Why are they on North Florida Caviar Farms,” wuft.org
- Enterprise Writing: Third Place, Matthew Cupelli, B.S. Journalism 2025, “Civilian Police Oversight in Florida Crumbles After New Law Kicks In,” Fresh Take Florida
- Investigative Reporting: Second Place, WUFT Student Staff, “The Cold, Hard Facts,” wuft.org
- Investigative Reporting: Third Place, Sara-James Ranta, “Community Protests ICE Involvement in Alachua County Schools,” The Independent Florida Alligator
- Features Writing: First Place (TIE), Lauren Brensel, B.S. Journalism 2025, “Fists of a Fighter, Heart of an Angel,” Atrium Magazine
- Features Writing: First Place (TIE), Bea Anhuci, “I Grieve What I Could Have Had: Daughter of Murdered Couple Reflects on Killer’s Execution,” wuft.org
- Features Writing: Third Place, Rylan DiGiacomo-Rapp, “Chasing Rarity: Poacher’s Brave Dangerous Florida Swamps for Imperiled Ghost Orchid,” Fresh Take Florida
- Sports: First Place, Liana Handler, “More Than Words: Inside the Important, Unique – And Sometimes Random – Role of MLB Translators” Grandstand Magazine
- Sports: Second Place (TIE), Jessica Garcete, “Racing’s Virtual Revolution,” Grandstand Magazine
- Sports: Second Place (TIE), Jackson Castellano, B.S. Journalism 2025, “$19 Chicken Fingers? How UF’s Baseball Concession Prices Rank vs. SEC Rivals,” wuft.org
- Sports: Third Place: Scarlet Cooney, B.S. Journalism 2025, “Months of Work for 90 Seconds: The Making a UF Gymnast’s Floor Routine,” wuft.org
- Multimedia: Second Place, Kairi Lowery, “Built in a Flash: New Satellite Imagery Shows Rapid Construction of ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’” Fresh Take Florida
- Multimedia: Third Place, WUFT Student Staff, “When Lightning Strikes,” wuft.org
- Photography: Third Place, Juleidi Machuca, “The Battle Over the Norman Tunnel Rainbows,” The Independent Florida Alligator
- Video Storytelling: Second Place, Juan Carlos Chaoui, “The Rodeo Kid: An Unlikely Teen Roper,” wuft.org
- Video Storytelling: Third Place, Nicole Borman, “Rebuilding Paradise: How a Florida Coastal Town is Bouncing Back After Three Consecutive Hurricanes,” wuft.org
- Spanish Features & Enterprise Writing: First Place, WUFT Staff, “El Precio del Paraiso,” wuft.org
- Spanish Features & Enterprise Writing: Third Place (TIE), Nathan Thomas, B.S. Journalism 2025, and Gabriella Chavez, B.S. Journalism 2025, “800 Millas, Sin Zapatos: El Viaje de un Migrante Hacia la Libertad,” Atrium Magazine
- Student Gold Medal Award Winners: (TIE) wuft.org and Caplin News (from Florida International University)
The awards will be presented during the Florida Media Conference in Orlando on June 4-5.
Category: Alumni News, College News, Student News
Tagged: 2026 FSNE Journalism Contest Atrium Magazine Fresh Take Florida FSNE Grandstand Magazine Independent Florida Alligator WUFT
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