The Pinnacle Awards are CMA’s flagship national honors, recognizing the best student work in collegiate journalism, media production and organizational excellence. Winners are selected by a panel of experienced media professors and educators. The 2025 Pinnacle Awards were presented at MediaFest25, October 16-18, 2025 in Washington, D.C. This year, we had a total of 3,358 entries and 1,165 finalists across 8 categories.
We know how much work goes into producing student media that is meaningful to our communities, and we commend everyone for putting in the time and effort it takes to submit contest entries this year. A complete list of finalists can be viewed here.
The David L. Adams Apple Awards, presented on Saturday, March 1, 2025, are given as a “Best of Show” at the annual CMA Spring Conference in New York City. This year, we had a total of 413 entries. We also launched a new award, the Big Apples, where the first-place winners in each division were judged against each other to determine which one was the most outstanding submission in each of the four divisions.
Learn, connect and explore Times Square with student journalists and advisers from across the country. CMA’s final NYC convention awaits.
Wed Dec 17, 2025CMA Confab - Going Beyond The Niche: Student Publications that Go Deep Category: Confabs |
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