The Media and American Studies Department at SUNY Old Westbury recently honored the outstanding work of its student journalists, broadcasters and content creators during the 18th Annual Media Arts Celebration (MAC) Awards.
These students are telling important stories as they gain valuable experience with new technologies and methods.”
-- Andrew Mattson
In all, 24 awards were presented across the categories of Digital News, New Media, Television, Radio, and Video.
“The MAC Awards are our chance to recognize the talent and dedication of our students,” said Andrew Mattson, chair of the Media and American Studies Department. “These students are telling important stories as they gain valuable experience with new technologies and methods.”
Awardees were recognized for projects ranging from news writing and multimedia storytelling to podcast production and creative video content. Each nominated and winning student entry can be seen on the 18th Annual MAC Awards website.
The award winners were selected through a competitive process by judges working in the news, television, film, and radio industries. The 2026 judges were Noga Cohen, a multidisciplinary artist; Timothy Coventry, producer, Spectrum News 1 (Columbus, Ohio); Thomas Johnson, WBLI-FM (West Babylon, New York) and WHKO-FM (Dayton, Ohio); William Kelly, a Florida-based community and local government reporter; Shaun Morash, radio personality, WFAN AM-FM (New York City); and Alexis Raskin, video artist and founding director of Here on Earth.
The 2026 event marked the 18th year of the awards. By the close of the evening, more than 500 MAC Awards had been presented since the event’s inception.
The 2026 MAC Award Winners
DIGITAL NEWS
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Digital News Story | “First in family, first in line: navigating life as a first-generation college student” Henry Wilson |
| Best Digital News Profile | “From academic probation to confidence and success: one student’s journey” Julia-lyn Cheatham |
| Best Digital News Opinion Piece | “SUNY Old Westbury was built on social justice. I want it to stay that way.” Ann Bunch |
| Best Digital News Video | “Halloween Robbery” Brandon Hernandez |
| Best Digital News Social Media Video | “Why is The Catalyst important?” Kyrah Jones-Griffith |
| Best Digital News Photojournalism Series | “Panther fun at the 5th annual Sports Bash” Michelle Moreno |
RADIO
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best News Segment | Ryan Garcia – "Gary Philips NY Daily News Interview" |
| Best Station Promo | Angelina Zavala – "The Cold Hard on OWWR" |
| Best Creative Production | Patrec Alexander Jones-Brown – "OWWR on Instagram" |
| Best Show | Patrec Alexander Jones-Brown – "OWWR Vinylthon 2026 at 4 AM" |
VIDEO
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Self Portrait Video | Rayvin Dawkins “Who Am I?” |
| Best Creative Video | “Thanatophobia” Shayla Shaw |
| Best Social Justice Video | “The Black Daredevil” Elijah Laborde |
| Best Documentary Video | “Vacant Places - A Mall Documentary” Joshua Ramirez -Lopez and Lorenzo Trovato |
TV
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best TV News Package Reporter | “OWWR’s Vinylthon” Jugraj ‘Jay’ Samra |
| Best TV News Package | “CREAR Futuros at SUNY Old Westbury” Kelvin Ventura, Victor Hernandez, Joshua Ramirez-Lopez, and Rayvin Dawkins |
| Best TV Show Host | “Inside the Panther’s Den” Rayvin Dawkins |
| Best TV Special Coverage | “On the Air: A Radio Featured Story” Jolline Andre, Gabrielle Gambuzza, Patrec Alexander Jones-Brown, Jahnavi Sripathi, Jaden Nunez |
| Best TV Segment or Episode | “Know it or Blow it” Richard McKenzie Jolline Andre, Tylyn LeSane Donovan Johnson Laibea Chaudhry Rayvin Dawkins Victor Hernandez Kevin Vasseghi |
NEW MEDIA
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Vertical Video | “Summer at the Sangha Week Three” Rayvin Dawkins and Anthony Garcia |
| Best Social Media Campaign | “What's Happening Wednesdays” Manya Gandhi and Richard McKenzie |
| Best Podcast Episode | “The Black Roundtable, Father’s Day Special” Ryan Cuffee Caston |
| Best Portfolio Reel | “Video Reel” Thomas Summer |
Best Online Portfolio “Visual Storyteller/ Creative Chaos” | Manya Gandhi |