The Kentucky Kernel staff poses with its awards from the Kentucky Press Association News Excellence awards on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, at the Holiday Inn University Plaza in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Photo by David Stephenson.
The staff of the Kentucky Kernel won the General Excellence award among 47 others at the 2024 Kentucky Press Association Winter convention.
KPA recognized the work of news outlets across the state in a multitude of categories on Jan. 26, the second day of the two-day convention hosted in Bowling Green.
The Kernel was a part of the “Student Publications 2” division, going against other university publications where enrollment is of 10,001 students or more, according to the KPA news and advertising contest rules.
In this division, the independent student newspaper won 48 awards: 17 first-place awards, 15 second-place awards, 15 third-place awards and the Student Publications 2 General Excellence award.
Kernel Editor-in-Chief Hannah Stanley said she was speechless upon learning how many awards the paper had left Bowling Green with.
“Honestly, I could not be any more thankful or proud of this staff,” she said.
Stanley said the Kernel has had a “younger staff” for the last few years and that some students came in with no journalistic experience. Stanley spoke of the importance these awards hold for student journalists, especially the ones who are new to the field.
“It goes far beyond just the University of Kentucky. We have people all over the state and even nation reading our stories and it’s just something a lot bigger than something they’d expect,” Stanley said.
Kernel Student Media Advisor Ryan Craig said the newsroom is filled with hard working students who are constantly improving and bettering themselves as journalists.
“I think that it’s become apparent that we are one of the best collegiate outlets in the state of Kentucky and most likely in the country,” Craig said.
Both Craig and Stanley said they foresee a bright future for the Kentucky Kernel as the shift to multimedia news continues and the Kernel’s online presence grows.
Gracie Moore, the Kernel’s digital editor, also made note of the newsroom’s growth since last year’s convention in January 2023 regarding broadcasts, breaking news coverage, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and the paper’s ability to get stories out to the public faster than ever.
“If we’re already doing this well, I think there’s a really really bright future for multimedia and the Kernel’s digital presence,” Moore said.
Stanley attributed much of her success to her predecessor, Rayleigh Deaton.
“She was our editor-in-chief and I was her managing and news editor … we shared half of our awards tonight,” Stanley said. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have even been able to get through some of those stories.”
Stanley said she knows she’s able to do the same for her staff and help them see that even when things are difficult, it’s worth it.
She said there’s no doubt in her mind that the Kernel will be “even more successful” in the coming year.
“I really couldn’t ask for anything more,” Stanley said.
List of Kentucky Kernel KPA award winners:
Editorial
1st place – Staff
Best Breaking News Coverage
1st place – Rayleigh Deaton
Best General News Story
2nd place – Alexis Baker
3rd place – Lindsey Davis
Best Columnist
1st place – Karrington Garland
2nd place – Quézia Arruda Cunha
Best Sports Columnist
1st place – Drew Johnson
2nd place – Cole Parke
3rd place – Samantha Money
Best Sports Story
1st place – Colton Johnson
2nd place – Cole Parke
3rd place – Parker Scott
Best Sports Feature
2nd place – Samantha Money
Best Investigative Story or Series
1st place – Rayleigh Deaton and Hannah Stanley
Best On-Going/Extended Coverage Story
1st place – Staff
3rd place – Staff
Best Lede
3rd place – Casey Sebastiano
Best use of social media or multimedia
1st place – Staff
2nd place – Staff
Best Video
3rd place – Hannah Stanley
Best Website
1st place – Staff
Best Breaking News Picture
1st place – Travis Fannon
2nd place – Abbey Cutrer
3rd place – Jack Weaver
Best General News Picture
1st place – Samuel Colmar
2nd place – Abbey Cutrer
3rd place – Jack Weaver
Best Feature Picture
1st place – Samuel Colmar
2nd place – Jack Weaver
3rd place – Samuel Colmar
Best Photo Essay
1st place – Abbey Cutrer, David Falade and Jack Weaver
2nd place – Samuel Colmar and Abbey Cutrer
Best Sports Picture
1st place – Samuel Colmar
2nd place – Abbey Cutrer
3rd place – Travis Fannon
Best Sports Picture Essay
2nd place – Carter Skaggs
3rd place – Isabel McSwain, Carter Skaggs and Jack Weaver
Best Special Section/Sports Special Section
1st place – Staff
2nd place – Staff
3rd place – Staff
Best Sports Page/Section
1st place – Akhila Nadimpalli and Allie Hall
2nd place – Akhila Nadimpalli and Allie Hall
3rd place – Akhila Nadimpalli and Allie Hall
Best Editorial Page
1st place – Akhila Nadimpalli and Allie Hall
2nd place – Akhila Nadimpalli and Allie Hall
Best Front Page
3rd place – Akhila Nadimpalli and Allie Hall
Best Headline Writer
1st place – Staff
General Excellence
1st place – Staff