Dear alumni and friends,
We had a lot to celebrate last month. The students and faculty behind our 2025 depth reporting project "Nebraska Behind Bars" were honored with multiple national awards. The investigative team, which examined the overcrowding, understaffing, and systemic challenges facing Nebraska's prison system, took home this year's College Journalism Award at the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Book and Journalism Awards. This year is the fourth time a depth-reporting project from the college has received a Kennedy award and the second time in five years. We are especially proud of this honor because the project was developed in just the second year of the establishment of our two Deepe Family Endowed Chairs in Depth Reporting, Associate Professor of Practice Chris Graves and Assistant Professor Linda White.
Two “Nebraska Behind Bars” team members also earned top honors in the National Writing Competition at the 66th Hearst Journalism Championships in San Francisco this June. Livia Ziskey won first place and a $10,000 prize, and Grace Lewis won third place and a $5,000 prize. They competed against seven other finalists to answer the question “Did San Francisco really recover from the pandemic?” Both Livia and Grace are May 2026 graduates from Omaha who are now working in local journalism; Livia is the K-12 Education Reporter at the Lincoln Journal Star and Grace is a News Reporter at the Omaha World-Herald.
The spring 2026 depth reporting project “Lives in the Balance” was also released in June. The class contributed to a multi-platform journalism project that brought together nearly 100 journalists from six universities to report simultaneously from immigration courtrooms across Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska and New York. All universities involved are members of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education, a partnership of 11 universities working to advance the role of journalism schools in higher education. The Nebraska stories were reported and written by four CoJMC students over two courses taught by Chris Graves during the 2025-2026 academic year, including the college’s Mosaic class in the fall that focused on immigration issues and the spring depth reporting course where students worked specifically on issues facing Omaha’s immigration courts.
Our students are taking the skills they learn in the classroom and making an impact on their community—Brandon Jurgens, a junior journalism major from Filley, is spending his summer as a Rural Fellow working to improve emergency communications in Knox County; a team of Jacht Agency students worked on “Nurture Nebraska,” a statewide public awareness campaign and interactive display for the Lincoln Airport to promote children’s social and emotional development from birth to age 5; and Mikayla Teet, an advertising and public relations major and mom of three, is passionate about building a communications career centered on accessibility after her experiences working with the disability community to support her visually impaired daughter. Lastly, congratulations to 318 students named to the spring 2026 Dean’s Lists; 280 students made the Dean's List and 38 students made the Dean’s Commendation List.
Our faculty are doing great work, too. Last month, Associate Professor Changmin Yan led the Nebraska Nanoplastics research team’s efforts in hosting Washington Post Climate Reporter Shannon Osaka. The Daily Nebraskan ran a featured story on the visit, which offered Osaka a firsthand look at the team’s transdisciplinary research on micro- and nanoplastics and human health challenges across UNL and UMNC campuses. We also celebrate Assistant Professor Ciera Kirkpatrick, who published her first solo study on how more realistic social media content could reduce harm for new mothers.
This year, The Daily Nebraskan is celebrating 125 years of student-driven journalism, storytelling and service to this university. Register for the 125th Anniversary Reunion that will take place on UNL campus from September 4–6, 2026. This newsletter also features Nebraska Quarterly stories from alumni Chuck Green ('93) and Dave Feit ('97) on Nebraska basketball's postseason run, as well as a piece from Jordan Howell ('25) on Diane (Miller) Frost ('77, '82) and her barrier-breaking legacy in the Cornhusker Marching Band. Also, check out the work from thirteen CoJMC photographers—ranging from students to professionals—who captured "A Day in the Life at Nebraska" on all three UNL campuses this spring and join me in congratulating this month’s Huskers on the Move.
Looking ahead, consider joining us at the Nebraska Broadcasters Association's "Broadcast Proud" Annual Convention on August 11–12 at the Embassy Suites in Lincoln. Early bird registration closes on July 27th.
Go Big Red!
Adam
