Excellence in Student Journalism: The Scarlet & Black Earns Top Iowa College Media Association Honors

Staff members of The Scarlet & Black, Grinnell College’s student newspaper, recently attended the Iowa College Media Association (ICMA) awards ceremony, where they achieved remarkable success, earning multiple individual and staff awards. Their dedication to high-quality journalism was recognized with one of the most prestigious honors of the evening — being named 2024 News & Multimedia Organization of the Year!

Additionally, S&B Professional Advisor Lyle Muller was honored with the Eighmey Award, a lifetime achievement award for college media advising.

This achievement is a testament to the dedication and tenacity of The S&B staff, including writers, editors, photographers, and designers who work both independently and collaboratively to produce in-print and digital editions featuring campus news, community spotlights, sports recaps, local politics, and more. The publication also showcases the talents of staff photographers, comic artists, and crossword puzzle creators, making The Scarlet & Black a vibrant and essential source of news for the Grinnell community.

Co-Editor-in-Chief Nora Kohnhurst ’25 and recently graduated former Co-Editor-in-Chief Zachary Spindler-Krage ’25 reflect on the success of The S&B and its staff. 

Spindler-Krage, said, “The amount of work that goes into each edition of The S&B is often lost on people. Throughout my time at Grinnell, I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that I dedicated more time to the newspaper than I did to my classes. Without a journalism program, there are lots of things that we had to learn as we went. Our advisor, Lyle Muller, always kept us on the right path, as did the many S&B alums who are now working professionally in journalism. We didn’t always get the stories exactly right, but we always did our best, and over time I think it’s fair to say that we grew to get it more right, more often.”

Kohnhurst said, “This is only our fourth year submitting material to the ICMAs, and the fact that our staff has been recognized so widely really reflects the hard work that goes into producing online and print product each week. While many other colleges have journalism majors, The S&B's staff works outside of a designated program. This makes each year's successive set of wins all the more meaningful.”

2024 ICMA Award Winners from The Scarlet & Black

Best Print/Online News Reporting:

• First Place – Nina Baker '24

Best Print/Online Profile:

• First Place – Claire Giannosa '26

Best Print/Online Sports Reporting:

• Second Place – Zach Spindler-Krage ’25

Best Sports Feature Reporting:

• Second Place – Allison Moore '24 and Gabriela Roznawska ’26

Best Headline Writing:

• Honorable Mention – S&B Staff

Best Opinion:

• First Place – Zach Spindler-Krage ’25

Best Staff Editorial:

• First Place – S&B Staff, "We need transparency on our budgets"