Drake University student magazines Drake Mag and Drake Political Review extended their run as Associated Collegiate Press Pacemaker Awards finalists. Drake Mag, the university’s flagship general interest magazine, notched its 10th consecutive Pacemaker Finalist designation, winning six times during that run. Drake Political Review, the university’s politics magazine, grabbed its third Pacemaker Finalist award and will be chasing its first win at the National College Media Convention in Kansas City this November.
“Drake students have delivered excellence for decades, and this recognition is further proof of their commitment to excellent reporting, storytelling, design and photography,” said Kelly Bruhn, dean of the Drake School of Journalism and Mass Communication. “It’s amazing to me that our students are creating this award-worthy work as an extracurricular activity not tied to a classroom requirement. I am so proud of the dedicated professionals they are.”
The Pacemaker Awards are the ACP’s top national student media contest recognizing the best incollegiate journalism, media production, and organizational excellence. This is the 19th year in a row that Drake University student media has earned Pacemaker Awards, with Drake Mag notching up many of those. In fact, the magazine has netted so many Pacemaker Awards that it was one of only 14 magazines named to the Pacemaker 100, the ACP’s list of the most recognized student media publications in the organization’s 100-year history.
Along with Drake Mag’s Pacemaker finalist award, Art Director Jordan Wyer was named an Individual Pacemaker Award Finalist in the Best Magazine Cover category. Her cover for the Spring 2026 issue of Drake Mag, featuring an image of 2025-26 Des Moines Buccaneers standout Blake Zielinski—now a member of the National Hockey League’s Los Angeles Kings—will compete against nine other covers for the top spot.
Two other Drake students are also Individual Pacemaker finalists. Abbie Carroll’s piece “Petition Appears to Include False Information,” about a fake name being submitted for the renaming of a street near campus, from Drake’s student newspaper The Times-Delphic, is a finalist in the Breaking News Story category. Caroline Siebels-Lindquist’s “Bad Midwestern Feminist,” her seven-part podcast series for Drake School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s journalism capstone Urban Plains, is a Podcasting Finalist.
Pacemaker winners will be announced at the National College Media Convention Nov. 7.