‘It’s just so surreal.’ Kernel Media makes history with 59 awards at National College Media Convention – Kentucky Kernel

The Kentucky Kernel and KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion brought home 59 national awards this week at the fall College Media Convention. 

From Oct. 16 -18, Kernel Media attended the convention hosted by the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) and the College Media Association (CMA) in Washington, D.C., which included multiple educational sessions, keynote speakers and most notably, award ceremonies for the Pinnacles, ACP Pacemakers and ACP Best of Show.

The Kernel historically took home one of two Broadcast Pacemakers, after just recently making the change to multimedia, according to Ryan Craig, student media advisor for the University of Kentucky. 

“​​It just kind of reinforces what we’ve been saying,” Craig said. “Both newsrooms are some of the strongest in collegiate America.” 

Craig said at this year’s awards show, the Kernel and KRNL were just as successful in photo, video, podcast and all aspects of multimedia as they are in print.

“We’re no longer a newspaper,” Craig said. “I feel like that (Broadcast Pacemaker) was an immense accomplishment, considering that we really only started our program with video, the broadcast-style videos three academic years ago.”

Giana Gallo, a senior broadcast journalism major and Kernel editor-in-chief, won awards in multiple broadcast categories, including for Kernel Chronicles, the Kernel’s digital magazine show, which won the Pacemaker award. 

Gallo, along with former Kernel TikTok manager Bryce Towle, began Kernel Chronicles over a year ago to imitate a news station while being creative and unique, saying what began as a small project is now a nationally recognized news show. 

“It’s (the award) a testament of testing the waters and trying to see what we can do with no radio license. We’re not a TV station … At that point, we didn’t even have a video team. It was literally just a couple of nerds hanging out,” Gallo said. “We’re kind of just putting a bunch of creative minds together that all have a shared passion for telling a story visually and seeing where that can take off and take us.”

To see not only herself, but several reporters she trained win national awards, Gallo said, means all the hard work and dedication from the last year truly paid off. 

“I’m just very proud of the video team and the Kernel that I can say in my time that I really have made a legacy and an impact,” Gallo said. 

While she has known about Kernel Chronicles being a Pacemaker finalist for months, Gallo said, seeing it be crowned top two in the country was unlike anything she had experienced in her journalism career so far.

“I’ve been crying ever since I got home, honestly, and every phone call and when I was at lunch with my boyfriend, I started crying at the table,” Gallo said. “It’s just so surreal.”

Laurel Swanz, a senior broadcast journalism major, 2024-25 KRNL editor-in-chief and current Kernel news editor, took home many awards for the two issues of KRNL she led.

Swanz won first in investigative story and sports investigative story at the Pinnacles for an article called Swim at Your Own Risk, which she wrote with three others in the spring, a piece detailing the sexual abuse of former UK swimming coach Lars Jorgenson. 

“I just wanted to cry, really, because it was really hard last year,” Swanz said. “I wish my team had been there to celebrate with me, because I did not write that piece alone.”

Swanz, along with Carlee Hogsten, Alexis Baker and Reaghan Chen, spent months going through documents, sharing countless Zoom calls and speaking with “people who didn’t want to talk to us.” 

Through all the hard work, Swanz said she learned what it meant to be a reporter, saying she not only loved seeing the work pay off at the award ceremonies but also knew it brought real change.  

“I want to do the journalism that matters, and this piece mattered to me and to the people that worked on it and to our campus and just seeing it recognized on a national scale was really fulfilling,” Swanz said. 

Seeing the magazine awarded for many of its designs was fulfilling, Swanz said, and seeing many of the people who worked so closely with her win, such as Ashleigh Jones, was even better.

Jones, a senior digital media design major, creative director for KRNL and chief of design for the Kernel, took home four individual awards at the ceremonies.

Jones said she had only won one other award while working for Kernel Media since 2023

and felt extremely proud of herself for her year of accomplishments.

“I’ve never won anything like that before, so when it happened, I couldn’t believe it. I just was shaking and tearing up, just because I just felt so proud of myself,” Jones said. “It felt surreal, and I couldn’t help but cry, because that’s the biggest accomplishment I’ve had so far in college.” 

Since hearing about the nomination in July, Jones said she has been imagining what it would feel like to win, saying she couldn’t believe herself when it actually happened. 

However, in every category, she did not win first, Jones said she took notes of who did, so that she can come back to the CMA/ACP awards next year with bigger and better designs.

“I knew that what I’m doing and what I want to do with my future, I can do it and I am good at it,” Jones said. “So it was just nice to … know that I’m not wasting my time in college,  I’m doing the work and I’m getting recognized for it.”

CMA Pinnacle 

Individual Pinnacle

Giana Gallo, Kentucky Kernel – Honorable Mention for Breaking News Package (Audio/Video) 

Hannah Piedad, Kentucky Kernel – Honorable Mention for Breaking News Photo 

Sammy Wynn, Kentucky Kernel – Honorable Mention for Breaking News Story (Print/Web) 

Lilly Keith, Abbey Cutrer, Edward Smith, Kentucky Kernel – Third Place General News Multimedia Coverage 

Sammy Wynn, Isabella Lindsey, Christian Kantosky, Kentucky Kernel – Second Place News Multimedia Package 

Giana Gallo, Edward Smith, Kentucky Kernel – First Place Video Newscast 

Staff (Carlee Hogsten, Laurel Swanz, Reaghan Chen, Alexis Baker) KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – First Place Investigative Story 

Ashleigh Jones, Kentucky Kernel – Second Place Yearbook Spread 

Staff, Kentucky Kernel- Second Place Video Entertainment Program 

Bryce Towle, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Second Place Creative Film 

Akhila Nadimpalli, Carlee Hogsten, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Honorable Mention Infographic  

Bryce Towle, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – First Place Long Documentary 

Edward Smith, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Honorable Mention, Short Documentary 

Ashleigh Jones, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Second Place Magazine Spread

Hayden Burn, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Third Place Vertical Short Video 

Kernel Staff, Kentucky Kernel – Second Place, Video Entertainment Program 

Olivia White, Kentucky Kernel – Honorable Mention A&E Story (Audio/Video)

Alexis Baker, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Honorable Mention Feature Photo

Mathew Mueller, Christian Kantosky, Kentucky Kernel – Second Place Feature Photo Package  

Sammy Wynn, Isabella Lindsey, Kentucky Kernel – Third Place Coverage of Diversity

Carlee Hogsten, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Second Place Coverage of Diversity 

Abbey Cutrer, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Second Place Portrait 

Staff, Kentucky Kernel – Third Place Editorial

Staff, Kentucky Kernel – First Place Advertising Special Section 

Staff, Kentucky Kernel – Honorable Mention Audio Public Service Announcement 

Bryce Towle, Kentucky Kernel – Second Place Video Public Service Announcement  

Lauren Smiley, Kentucky Kernel – Honorable Mention Game Story (Audio/Video) 

Staff (Carlee Hogsten, Laurel Swanz, Reaghan Chen, Alexis Baker), KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – First Place Investigative Sports Story 

Staff (Carlee Hogsten, Laurel Swanz, Reaghan Chen, Alexis Baker), KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Third Place Multimedia Sports Story 

Christian Kantosky, Kentucky Kernel – Second Place Multimedia Sports Story 

Bryce Towle, Kentucky Kernel – Honorable Mention Sports Feature (Audio/Video) 

Karsten VanMeter, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Third Place Sports Feature (Audio/Video) 

Karsten VanMeter, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Honorable Mention Sports Broadcast 

Organizational Pinnacle

KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – First Place Feature Magazine of the year 

ACP Pacemakers  

Organizational Pacemakers 

Kernel Chronicles, Kentucky Kernel –  2025 Broadcast Pacemaker 

Individual Pacemakers 

Staff (Carlee Hogsten, Laurel Swanz, Reaghan Chen, Alexis Baker), KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion –  Second Place 2025 Multimedia News Story 

Carlee Hogsten, Christian Kantosky, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion, First Place 2025 Multimedia Feature Story 

Carlee Hogsten, Akhila Nadimpalli, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Honorable Mention Interactive Graphic

Alexis Baker, Carlee Hogsten, Laurel Swanz, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Honorable Mention 2025 Social Media Reporting 

Staff, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion  – Fourth Place 2025 Magazine Cover 

Staff, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Honorable Mention 2025 Magazine Cover 

Ashleigh Jones, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – First Place 2025 Magazine Page/Spread 

Aubrey Riddick,  KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Honorable Mention 2025 Magazine Page/Spread  

Ashleigh Jones, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Honorable Mention 2025 Yearbook Page/Spread  

Mathew Mueller, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion  – Second Place 2025 Sports Game/Action Photo 

Edward Smith, Kentucky Kernel – Honorable Mention 2025 Broadcast Story of the Year  

Edward Smith, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Second Place 2025 Broadcast Feature Story  

Karsten VanMeter, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Honorable Mention 2025 Broadcast Sports Story  

Marissa Armstrong, Libby Heckert, Gabriella Mercedes, Lauren Smiley, Kentucky Kernel – Third Place 2025 Broadcast Commentary 

Sara Gibson, Colton Johnson, Kai McClelland, Kentucky Kernel – Fifth Place 2025 Broadcast Commentary  

Helena Arjona, Chase Myers, KRNL Lifestyle + Fashion – Honorable Mention 2025 Broadcast Commentary 

ACP Best of Show 

Individual Best of Show  

Piper Renaud, Kentucky Kernel – Fifth Place 2025 Broadcast: News Story 

Gavin Breunig, Kentucky Kernel – First Place 2025 Broadcast: Feature Story 

Gabriella Mercedes, Kentucky Kernel – Second Place 2025 Broadcast: Sports Story  

Ashleigh Jones, Kentucky Kernel – Tenth Place 2025 Design: Yearbook 

Christian Kantosky, Kentucky Kernel – First Place 2025 Photojournalism: New/Feature Photo 

Christian Kantosky, Kentucky Kernel – First Place 2025 Photojournalism: Sports Photo 

Isabella Sepahban, Kentucky Kernel – Third Place 2025 Reporting: Feature Story 

Organizational Best of Show 

Kentucky Kernel – Seventh Place 2025 Website (four-year campus, more than 15,000)