The South Florida Media Network has won many national and regional prizes including the prestigious Hearst Award for breaking news and the EPPY, given by Editor and Publisher magazine, for best community/niche website.
2022-2023 Academic Year
The Green Eyeshade Awards
Best News Reporter in the South, 1st Place: Valentina Palm, Miami Beach’s Dirty Little Secret
Best Sports Writer in the South, 3rd Place: Liam Rooney, collected sports work
Sunshine State Awards
Best student work in Spanish, 1st Place: Valentina Palm, El Secreto sucio de Miami Beach
Best News Story, 3rd Place: Valentina Palm, Miami Beach’s Dirty Little Secret
Best Profile, 1st Place: Gabriella Genao, El Caballero de Santiago
Best Light Feature, 1st Place: Aaliyah Pasols, She made Miami chongas famous. Now she’s the voice of Selena in the new Netflix series
Best Coverage of LGBT Issues, 1st Place: Ursula Muñoz Schaefer, Dabney Richards & Vanessa Sanchez, Transgender murders plague Puerto Rico (includes video story)
Best COVID-19 Coverage, 2nd Place: Elizabeth Garcia & Helen Acevedo, South Florida immigrants struggle to access COVID-19 vaccine
2021-2022 Academic Year
Florida Society of Newspaper Editors Contest
Helen Acevedo, Alejandra Garcia El Coro and Zitlali Solache
Breaking news – 1st place
Relatives of Surfside victims anxiously await news of loved ones at reunification center, Biden offers solace to families of Surfside victims, A vigil is held for Surfside victims as rescue and investigation continue
Valentina Palm
Investigative reporting – 1st place
Miami Beach’s Dirty Little Secret.
Shantel Sanchez
Sports reporting – 1st place
Freedom Park: What do neighbors think?
Adriana Rizik
Audio – 1st place
The world is fighting an invisible war through the Internet: Interview with Khrystyna M.
Lidia Delgado for first place in
Commentary – 1st place
Is FIU’s P3 App Effective?
Aaliyah Pasols
Feature writing – 3rd place
Roller skating during the pandemic.
Luciana Naretti
Multimedia reporting – 2nd place
Does the incoming flood of college students affect COVID-19 cases on campus?
Zitlali Solache and Julio Mendez
Video storytelling – 2nd place
A son grieves the loss of his elderly parents in the Surfside collapse.
2020-21 Academic Year
Hearst Award
Investigative Reporting – 3rd place ($1500 scholarship)
Valentina Palm
“Miami Beach’s Dirty Little Secret: The Park View Island Canal“
Green Eyeshade Award
Best News Reporter
1st Place: Bianca Marcof
2nd Place: Alejandra Marquez Janze
3rd Place: Valeria Venturini
Best Sports Writer – Third Place
Gabriel Urrutia
Best Photographer – First Place
Yasser Marte
Sunshine State Awards
Mejor trabajo estudiantil (todo tipo de medios)
“Arrendadores de botes aprovechan el Covid-19 y logran evadir las regulaciones”
Second place: Fabian Osorio & Alejandro Trujillo
Yasser Marte
“Photos of Miami protest are engrossing and frightening”
Best Sports Story
Gabriel Urrutia
“South Florida produces more top football talent than anywhere else”
Best Video – Third Place
Edmarys Menendez, Betsabe Romero & Jesus Dobbins
“Artists Layon, Rebuil, Wilber Mateu and Leah Dibut create new music despite the pandemic”
Best Multimedia Feature – First Place
Alejandra Marquez Janse & Kaylee Padron
Best Coverage of LGBT Issues – Third Place
Best Coverage of Race & Underrepresented Communities
– Second place
Maria Lago, Helen Acevedo, Jordon Coll, & Yasser Marte
Eppy Award (Editor & Publisher)
Best College Produced Community or Niche Website – Winner
South Florida Media Network Staff
Best Video on a College Website – Finalist
Haley Richards, Paul Martinez and Brianny Viso
“Mother and Son Offer Autism Training to First Responders”
2019-20 Academic Year
Hearst Award
Breaking News – Finalist
Kaylee Padron
“Trouble at Miami New Times as staff writers leave, culture editor is laid off and salaries cut”
Mark of Excellence (SPJ National)
Online/digital feature videography – Region 3 winner; National runner-up
Jay Valle, Monica Lebro and Andrea Igliozzi
“South Florida Access Goes from Hollywood Hard Rock to the Lighthouse of Broward”
Campus Coronavirus Coverage (SPJ National)
Best Coverage – Winner
South Florida Media Network Staff
Best Design – Winner
Imogen Francis
Sunshine State Awards
Best Website – First Place
South Florida News Service staff
Best Coverage of LGBT Issues – Third Place
Mariandrea Vergel Prieto
“Struggles of transgender women transcend borders”
Mejor Trabajo Estudiantil (todo tipo de medios)
1st Place: Laura Isabel Perez
“Jóvenes boricuas buscan en Miami el hogar que el huracán María les quitó”
2nd Place: Juan David Endara
“Ante la adversidad, la resiliencia: Historias de vidas colombianas que superan la adversidad”
3rd Place: Grethel Delgado
“Coconut Grove Playhouse: 13 años de silencio”
Florida Society of News Editors
Multimedia – Second Place
Yasser Marte, Kai’Chien Chisholm
“Stephen Ross, Tank for Tua, and the current state of the Miami Dolphins”
Photography – First Place
Yasser Marte
Video Storytelling – Second Place
Brandon Bravo, Jay Valle, Monica Lebro, Andrea Igliozzi
“South Florida Access Goes from Hollywood Hard Rock to the Lighthouse of Broward”
2018-19 Academic Year
Florida Society of News Editors
Breaking News Reporting – First Place
Gabriel Poblete, Maria Gil, Jesse Scheckner
“FIU bridge near MMC campus collapses, killing and injuring several, just five days after being built”
Enterprise Writing – Second Place
Adrian Nones-Newman
“Millennials buying guns in wake of school shootings”
Photography – Second Place
Sebastian Ballestas
“Miami Broward Carnival”
Green Eyeshade Award
Best Student Photographer – Third Place
Sebastian Ballestas
Sunshine State Awards
Best Website – Second Place
South Florida News Service staff
Best News Story – First Place
Jesse Scheckner, Maria Gil & Gabriel Poblete
“FIU bridge near MMC campus collapses, killing and injuring several, just five days after being built”
Best Disaster Reporting – Second Place
Jesse Scheckner, Maria Gil & Gabriel Poblete