Egan Ward named MCMA Journalist of the Year
By Theo Schwinke
University of Missouri sophomore Egan Ward was recently named Journalist of the Year by the Missouri College Media Association.
“I’ve worked really hard over these past two years to set myself apart. This award will help me do that even more,” said the journalism major from Orlando.
Ward is editor of the MOVE arts and culture section of The Maneater, Mizzou’s student-run newspaper. He has been instrumental in revitalizing MOVE and making it a visually impactful printed magazine as well as an interactive online experience. Ward is also the co-creator and host of the Mizzou Student Media podcast Voices of MU.
Ward started working for The Maneater in December of his freshman year and became an editor for MOVE at the beginning of his sophomore year.
“Getting involved at an early stage as a student is really formative for your experience as a journalist,” he said. “It’s given me so much opportunity to be creative.”
Ward believes student media plays an important role on college campuses. “It gives students a voice,” he said. “It’s a great way for students to learn about what is going on from other students who have their interests in mind.”
At MU, student-run media gives student journalists a special advantage. “It’s a way for students to get comfortable with professional newsroom atmospheres,” he said. “This is a place where they can learn and where they have the resources to put their creativity to use.”
Next year Ward will become assistant general manager of Mizzou Student Media, where his to-do list includes launching a Maneater alumni newsletter and fostering more collaboration between The Maneater, student-run radio station KCOU and the Mizzou Student Media podcast network.
“I want to make us run as efficiently as possible with the interests of the student body in mind because that is that is who we are serving,” Ward said. “We hope to increase engagement and emphasize professional development when it comes to bringing students in and helping them build the skills necessary to succeed later.”
Ward recently joined the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute Innovation Team, which builds open-source tools for journalists, and said he wants to join the Watchdog Writers Group, a non-profit that produces in-depth reporting and trains future reporters. He plans to work for the Columbia Missourian and Vox Magazine as part of his coursework in the coming years.
Ward wants to work on the East Coast after graduation. “I’m really hoping to get into a newsroom and push the improvement of journalism as a whole,” he said.