Student journalists at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, took home several top honors in the 2025 Diamond Journalism Awards—including Student Journalist of the Year and the Student Special Projects award for the Election Project.
The Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists sponsors the annual Diamond Journalism Awards, a regional competition that recognizes outstanding journalism from Arkansas and bordering states.
Recent School of Journalism and Media graduate and former The Daily Beacon sports editor Caleb Jarreau (‘25) won three first-place awards. Jarreau was named Student Journalist of the Year, and won first-place awards in the Student Features and Student Sports categories.
Also winning a first-place award was the Election Project, a collaborative reporting initiative between the School of Journalism and Media and The Media Center at the College of Communication and Information, which covered the 2024 presidential election and other civics topics.
The project also won “Best in the South” in public service journalism at the 2025 Southeast Journalism Conference (SEJC) and The Volunteer Channel received a Gracie Awards honorable mention for its Voting Matters live special as part of the Election Project.
“Our students continue to shine with their journalistic preparation and in prioritizing work that serves our communities,” said Amy Jo Coffey, director of the School of Journalism and Media. “Congratulations to all on their achievements, as well as to their mentors and professors.”
Here is the full list of award winners and finalists from UT::
Student Journalist of the Year
Winner: Caleb Jarreau (The Daily Beacon)
Student-Special Projects
Winner: The Election Project (TVC, The Daily Beacon, WUOT, WUTK)
Student – Features
Winner: Caleb Jarreau (The Daily Beacon)
Finalist: Pierce Gentry (WUOT)
Student-Sports
Winner: Caleb Jarreau (The Daily Beacon)
Student-News
Winner: Pierce Gentry (WUOT)
Student–Page Design
Winner: (Ablaze)
Student-Photography
Finalist: Ryan Beatty (UT 2024 Paralympics Project)
For the full results visit: https://arkansasspj.org/category/diamond-awards/.