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Mustang Media Group Earns 25+ Awards

Mustang Media Group (MMG), the Cal Poly Journalism Department’s student-run media organization, received more than 25 awards in the span of five months.

MMG earned awards on behalf of the organization, and several students were recognized for their personal accomplishments. 

The student journalists received state-wide recognition with multiple awards from the California Collegiate Media Association at the Associated Collegiate Press’ National Midwinter Journalism Convention held in early March. They also earned national recognition with 10 awards from the College Media Association (CMA) 2017 Pinnacle Awards at the ACP/CMA Fall National College Media Convention in October, along with several additional awards at the 2018 College Media Business and Advertising Managers (CMBAM). One journalism student was selected as a 2018 CMBAM fellow for the convention that was held in late March. 

Cal Poly Journalism Student Bianka Pantoja Awarded Internship Grant
Bianka Pantoja, CMBAM fellow 

CMBAM Fellow

Journalism student Bianka Pantoja was selected as a 2018 fellow for the CMBAM convention in Kansas City, MO, which was held in late March. “I knew I wanted to go to the conference, but then I thought it would be an even greater experience to be a part of organizing it,” said Pantoja. As a fellow, Pantoja assisted the CMBAM executive board before the convention with marketing and planning efforts, and served as a copy editor for associated advertisements and convention programs. During the conference, she arrived early to help set up as well as assist the executive board with interview scheduling, speed networking, and introducing session speakers.

Cal Poly Journalism at 2018 CMBAM convention
Mustang Media Group students at CMBAM  

CMBAM Awards

Mustang Media Group received third place in nation, and several individual students also received awards at the 2018 CMBAM convention.

  • Hannah Avdalovic, CMBAM Marketing/PR manager of year
  • Emily Manos, CMBAM Advertising Manager of the Year
  • Bianka Pantoja, second place CMBAM Advertising Sales Rep of the Year

CMA Pinnacle Awards 

The College Media Association’s Pinnacle Awards honor the best college media organizations and individual work. The contest is open to student work produced for any college media organization, including print, broadcast and online outlets, during an academic year. Founded in 1954, CMA has more than 800 members across the nation. It supports both new and veteran advisers of collegiate media programs with conventions, workshops, publications and national networking. Cal Poly's MMG staff and students won

  • First Place, Best Display Ad - Erica Patstone (Valley Center, Calif.)
  • First Place, Best Portrait - Matt Lalanne (Porterville, Calif.)
  • First Place, Best Social Media Main Page - Aaron Matsuda (Sacramento, Calif.)
  • First Place, Best TV Special Event Coverage - Ayrton Ostly (Los Gatos, Calif.), Connor McCarthy (Carlsbad, Calif.) and Leah Pezzetti (Sacramento, Calif.)
  • Second Place, Best Multimedia Campaign - Ellen Fabini (El Cerrito, Calif.)
  • Third Place, Best Ad Campaign - Erica Patstone (Valley Center, Calif.)
  • Third Place, Best Multimedia Breaking News Story - Mustang News Staff
  • Third Place, Best Television Sportscast - Mustang News TV/Mustang Media Group
  • Third Place, Best Viral Video - Gina Randazzo (Ventura, Calif.), Naba Ahmed (Hawthorn, Calif.) and James Hayes (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)
  • Honorable Mention, Best Ad Supplement - Mustang News Staff

CCMA awards for MMG staff and students

The California College Media Association hosts a competition honoring excellence in college journalism. Categories include advertising, digital, visual, writing and overall excellence. CCMA formed in 2004 to foster cooperation among colleges in the state in order to give a unified voice in addressing problems and issues that college news media face, to provide support and communications to advisers and editors, to nurture college journalists and to share resources. MMG was honored with

  • First Place, Best Advertising Special Section
  • First Place, Best Online Campaign (KCPR-FM)
  • First Place, Best Color Ad Second Place, Best Online Ad
  • Second Place, Best Ad Campaign
  • Second Place, Best Use of Social Media for a Single Event
  • Third Place, Best Black and White Ad
  • Third Place, Best Multimedia Presentation
  • Third Place, Best Overall Newspaper Design
  • Honorable Mention, Best Use of Social Media for a Single Story

Five CCMA awards individually recognized students:

  • Second Place, Best Infographic - Brendan Matsuyama (Manteca, Calif.)
  • Second Place, Best Photo Illustration - Chris Gateley (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Third Place, Best Sports Feature Story - Erik Engle (Petaluma, Calif.)
  • Third Place, Best Feature Photograph - Matt Lalanne (Porterville, Calif.)
  • Honorable Mention, Best Newspaper Front Page Design - Zack Spanier (San Diego, Calif.)

Mustang Media Group is a fully integrated student media organization at Cal Poly. The media arm includes print, digital, TV and radio through Mustang News, CPTV and KCPR-FM, as well as Central Coast PRspectives, which provides public relations and marketing services, and Green and Gold Digital that provides a myriad of services to clients.

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