UConn Journalism

05/30/2026

We have a national Top Ten winner in the prestigious Hearst Journalism Awards contest. Jenna Outcalt, who graduated with a UConn Journalism degree on May 10, came in 10th place in the podcast category for a story that she reported, wrote and produced in Prof. Harriet Jones' podcast class in Fall 2025. The story explores food insecurity in Hartford and what the nonprofit Levo International is doing to tackle the problem.
Jenna also developed the story as a correspondent for Planet Forward. This summer, she'll be working as an environmental reporter for Planet Forward and the Chautauqua Institution.

Listen to the story here: https://digitaljournalism.uconn.edu/growing-green-with-levo-international/
Hear Jenna talking about the story here: https://ctcommunitynews.substack.com/p/reporter-jenna-outcalt-on-growing

05/28/2026

During the Spring semester, Prof. Julie Serkosky's students and CT Community News have been reporting and writing stories on mental health through a solutions lens rather than simply exploring a problem. Their work has been supported by a grant from the Solutions Journalism Network as CT Community News has been a member of the Solutions Journalism Network Student Media Challenge cohort for 2025-26.

Here's the latest story from Prof. Serkosky's class: Bridget Bronsdon describes through her photos and her writing on the role of physical therapists in managing depression, anxiety and mental health. Bridget also served as the Student Media Challenge campus coordinator for the Solutions Journalism project. She underwent Solutions Journalism training, kept track of the UConn students' work in the cohort and collaborated with other journalism students around the state.

By Bridget Bronsdon | University of Connecticut

05/26/2026

Great news here: between the UConn Journalism Magazine and The Daily Campus, UConn had 20 students win a total of 18 Connecticut SPJ College Contest Awards.
The students won in the news stories, features, podcasts, photos, videos, layout, breaking news, sports coverage and opinion writing categories.
Several of the winners were part of Prof. Amanda Jane Crawford's students' project, "The Balance of Power," which examined how President Donald J. Trump has shifted power to the executive branch during his second presidency.
The winners will be honored on June 10 at 6 p.m. at Farmington Gardens in Farmington. Tickets are $45 at the event, which is the first time CT SPJ and the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information are holding a joint awards dinner.
See all of the details and the winners here:
https://spjconnecticut.wixsite.com/spj-connecticut/post/ct-spj-excellence-in-journalism-college-contest-winners-2025-2026

The announcement features UConn Journalism student Allison Gollenberg's first-place winning feature photo of UConn musician Snow Faye Blaze Mahoney.

See who won awards in 34 categories.

05/22/2026

Susan Hackett, a recent graduate in Marketing and Journalism from UConn, won a monthly public records contest that is sponsored by MuckRock, the New England First Amendment Coalition and the New England Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists
Susan participated in the contest as part of Prof. Amanda Jane Crawford's Media Law class this spring. All students are required to file a Freedom of Information request for public records, and they have to pursue the documents for the rest of the semester.
Susan used the state's FOI Act to obtain the contract for Mike Cavanaugh, the head coach of the men's ice hockey team.
Her win was cited in a recent edition of the national Society of Professional Journalists newsletter.

05/21/2026

Congratulations to retired UConn Journalism Prof. Gail B. MacDonald on the launch last night in New London of her book, "Abolitionists of the Northeast: Black Leaders in the Antislavery Movement."
To learn more about Prof. MacDonald, her research and her writing, here's a story published today by recent UConn Journalism graduate Sam Calhoun at CT Community News.
https://ctcommunitynews.substack.com/p/former-uconn-journalism-professor

It featured photos from the book launch by UConn Journalism Prof. Amanda Jane Crawford.

By Sam Calhoun | University of Connecticut

05/13/2026

Brad Tuttle, an assistant professor of journalism at UConn, has a research focus on Artificial Intelligence, but he knew the existential panic over cheating in college was hardly new.
Last summer, he said he began a journey down a research rabbit hole into the “OG ChaGPT” — a bunch of upstart networks brazenly selling term papers in the early 1970s. He writes, "the trade began in Boston but quickly went national, and the cast of characters involved could fill up a Netflix series."
The result of his journey is this piece for the Boston TThe Boston Globe which will be published in this Sunday's Globe Magazine.

Long before there was generative AI, “Mr. Papers” and other young hustlers made a fast buck selling smart essays to students.

05/12/2026

Congratulations to a team of 14 University of Connecticut students, led by UConn Journalism Associate Prof. Amanda Jane Crawford, that has earned the prestigious Student Team Award for Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship at UConn. They are being recognized for a sweeping multimedia project that informed thousands of residents while redefining student journalism’s role in public service.

The award honors the team behind “The Balance of Power,” an ambitious reporting initiative examining how shifts in federal authority have affected communities across Connecticut. The students spent months researching, interviewing and producing in-depth stories that connected national political developments to real lives on the ground.

"As journalism faces increasing challenges nationwide, the Balance of Power team demonstrated how student-led initiatives can rise to meet the moment by combining rigorous research, innovative storytelling, and civic responsibility,'' the announcement said. "In doing so, they didn’t just win an award; they delivered a powerful reminder of journalism’s enduring role in strengthening democracy."

Read more about the award here: https://today.uconn.edu/2026/05/uconn-provost-announces-2026-awards-for-excellence-in-community-engaged-scholarship/

To read "The Balance of Power," visit https://digitaljournalism.uconn.edu/balance-of-power/

President Donald Trump's sweeping actions in his second term have promoted a broad view of executive power as he implements his agenda. Since January 2025, he issued more than 200 executive orders to accomplish ideological goals, including implementing tariffs on foreign goods, firing federal worker...

05/12/2026

It's always a special day when we get to send our UConn Journalism graduates out into the world. Sunday's commencement was no exception. We didn't catch them all for photographs, but here are a few scenes from graduation.

Karla Perez, a journalism and communication major, delivered the student address at the afternoon College of Liberal Arts and Sciences ceremony at Gampel Pavilion on May 10. Bri Diaz/UConn Photo

Banner Carrier Earvin Adjei by Bri Diaz/UConn Photo

Gov. Ned Lamont was on hand to bestow an honorary degree on Indra Nooyi, the former CEO of Pepsico. Bri Diaz/UConn Photo

Graduates Julia Gillego, Sara Bedigian, Sam Calhoun, Ben Gingold, Sydney Haywood, Anna Heqimi, Krystal Johnson, Matthew Pezzino, Gianni Salisbury, Dan Stark and Christi Thrower.

Congratulations to the Class of 2026!

05/09/2026

Sara Bedigian, who graduates tomorrow with degrees in journalism and political science and minors in English and environmental studies, discusses her passion for journalism in this article. While interning at the Connecticut Mirror this semester, one of her stories was republished by The Washington Post. Congrats to Sara and our other UConn Journalism graduates!

From double majors and study abroad to peer advising and campus leadership, members of the Class of 2026 used their liberal arts and sciences education to e ...

05/08/2026

As the Spring 2026 semester wrapped up, the UConn Journalism Department handed out thousands of dollars of scholarships and honored 20 of our journalism majors at our annual Scholarship Awards Ceremony last week.
The students were honored for their achievements both inside and outside of the classroom.
An impressive alumna of our program, Jackie Wattles, who covers space and science for CNN, returned to Storrs to be our keynote speaker.
She also spoke to Prof. Kate Farrish's two Newswriting classes. She told the students that UConn is where she fell in love with the journalism process, including the discipline of verifying all facts and setting aside your biases.
"Studying journalism is a way to train your brain,'' Wattles, who is just back from covering the Artemis II mission to the dark side of the moon, said. "It's craft, and it's a profession."

Pictured: The scholarship recipients, back row, from left: Maleena Muzio, Kaden Knapp, Thaddeus Sawyer, Jake McCreven, Dan Stark, Sydney Haywood, Sophia Makin, Julianna D'Addona, Avery Becker and Karla Perez.
Front: Gianni Salisbury, Kitan Arole, Erika Avellino, Amanda Gonzalez, Katie Servas, Mikayla Bunnell, Dannan Page and Isabelle Camerato. Not pictured: Charlotte Harvey, Anna Heqimi and Elijah Polance.
Pictured: Wattles, Farrish and journalism student Mak Blake
Photos by UConn journalism student Gavin Foster