WKU News

Western Kentucky University is the only school in the country to have two publications honored as finalists for the Associated Collegiate Press Multiplatform Pacemaker Award, the top award for student media.

The College Heights Herald and the Talisman, the flagships of WKU Student Publications, each was named a finalist for the Multiplatform Pacemaker, which is considered the top honor in student media because it assesses how well a media outlet performs across six platforms – online, print, newsletter, social media, video and audio.

No other university in the nation had more than one finalist for the honor.

“The Multiplatform Pacemaker is what I call the gold standard for student media,” said Chuck Clark, director of WKU Student Publications. “Judges take a deep dive through every format an individual publication produces to see if it meets rigorous journalism and quality standards on every platform.

“Being a finalist for this award is meaningful, putting both the Talisman and the Herald in elite company with the best student media in the country.”

The College Heights Herald, WKU’s student-run newsroom, has previously won the Multiplatform Pacemaker twice – in 2023 and 2024 – and was a finalist in 2022, the year ACP launched the award. The Talisman, WKU’s life and culture magazine, was a finalist for the honor in 2025.

In addition to the Multiplatform finalist designations, the Herald is a finalist for the Newsmagazine Pacemaker for its print editions, and the Talisman is a finalist for the Feature Magazine Pacemaker for its print editions.

The 2026 Pacemaker Awards recognize work published during the 2025-26 academic year. Clarissa Dean, a May 2026 graduate, was the executive editor of the Talisman. Jake McMahon, a May 2026 graduate, was the editor-in-chief of the Herald.

Pacemaker winners will be announced in November at the National College Media Convention in Kansas City.

The Talisman and the College Heights Herald, both in their 102^nd year, are widely regarded as two of the best student media outlets in the country. Each is a member of the ACP Hall of Fame, and both were named in 2022 to The Pacemaker 100, the 100 top student media outlets in the century-long history of ACP and its Pacemaker Awards. The Herald was No. 6 in The Pacemaker 100 Top 10.

Since winning its first Pacemaker in 1978 with the Talisman, then WKU’s yearbook, and in 1981 with the Herald, then the campus newspaper, WKU Student Publications has accumulated 53 national Pacemaker Awards, the student media equivalent of a national championship – 26 for the Herald, 23 for the Talisman and four for the Student Publications Advertising sales team and the Cherry Creative branded content studio.

Since 2020, the media group has collected 16 Pacemakers, more than any other student media program in the nation during this decade – 9 for the Herald, 4 for Advertising and Cherry Creative, and 3 for the Talisman.

The success in the 2020s has mirrored a fast evolution for WKU Student Publications:

• The College Heights Herald, founded Jan. 29, 1925, has moved from being a traditional newspaper to a 24/7 news outlet publishing a daily email newsletter than reaches more than 25,000 subscribers, a vibrant daily website at WKUHerald.com, a monthly enterprise newsmagazine with exclusive news, and content delivered via audio, video and social media platforms. Anthony Clauson, a junior journalism major from Bowling Green, is the current editor-in-chief.
• The Talisman, founded in 1924, has continued a transformation that began in 2016, moving from a traditional yearbook to a life and culture magazine produced twice a year featuring longform journalism and exceptional photography, an eclectic website at WKUTalisman.com, a weekly email newsletter as well as content published on video and social media formats. Kayla White, a senior English major from Elizabethtown, is the current executive editor.
• Student Publications Advertising has evolved from the Herald Ad Department, launched in 1925, into a sales team that generates revenue across a wide variety of products now produced under WKU Student Publications. Jenna Hall, a senior marketing major from Nicholasville, is the advertising manager.
• Cherry Creative, launched in 2018, delivers specialty publications, sponsored content, events and other revenue-generating products to help clients reach the WKU community. It has been the key component for diversifying the revenue that supports WKU Student Publications and its four student-led divisions. Hanna Kronfeld, a junior visual journalism and photography major from Schaumburg, Illinois, is the director.

For more information, contact Chuck Clark at chuck.clark@wku.edu or 270-745-4206.