Florida International University’s (FIU) Caplin News has been named Best Student News Organization in the 75th annual Green Eyeshade Awards, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious regional journalism competition.
This recognition places the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media’s Caplin News at the forefront of student journalism across the Southeastern United States. For the first time in the contest’s history, eligibility expanded to include journalists from Virginia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, joining the long-established regions of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
The Green Eyeshade Awards are run by the Southeast region of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ). Submissions are evaluated by a panel of professional journalists and journalism educators from outside the region, ensuring impartiality and maintaining the award’s longstanding reputation for integrity.
Caplin News operates as a dynamic, student-powered newsroom that combines classroom learning with hands-on, professional-level reporting. Students gain experience in the Washington, D.C. news bureau, where they cover national politics and federal policy, as well as the Miami bureau, which reports on local communities and collaborates with major outlets including the Miami Herald, Miami Times and Miami Today. Caplin also produces ArtSpeak, an arts and culture magazine highlighting South Florida’s creative community, Newsbreak, a morning newscast chronicling events of local and global importance to South Floridians, and Sideline, a student-produced sports show covering collegiate, local and professional athletics.
Now in its diamond anniversary year, the Green Eyeshade Awards continue to celebrate journalistic excellence across all platforms, and Caplin News’ achievement reflects both the strength of its student reporters and the vision of its leadership.
“Congratulations to Caplin News on earning the Green Eye Shade Award as the Best Student News Organization — a well-deserved recognition of their excellence that reflects not only their talent and dedication, but also the power of experiential learning in our Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media,” said Brian Schriner, dean of the College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts (CARTA). “Through real-world reporting, Caplin News embodies our mission to provide meaningful, hands-on opportunities that prepare students to inform, engage, and lead in a rapidly evolving media landscape. I am so proud of our faculty and students’ accomplishment and the impact it represents.”
Nicolette Esper, a Digital Broadcasting major with a focus in Sports Journalism, is one of the bright minds behind the Caplin News operation. She says the award reflects the collaborative nature of their newsroom. “It impacted all of us,” Esper said. “It goes to show that village—that we do work together. It feels so good to know that people are watching, seeing what we’re doing, and it’s being celebrated.”
As a student journalist, Esper wears many hats; anchoring, producing, writing, reporting, and directing segments. “I’m everywhere, all at once,” she said. “That’s the best part about being a part of Caplin News. We get to see the side of reporting, anchoring at the desk, writing and publishing articles, and also being behind the scenes.”
Caplin News blends experiential learning with real newsroom demands, giving students like Esper the confidence to pitch, produce, and publish stories that matter. In the past year alone, she’s covered everything from elections and campus issues to major community stories. One of her most impactful pieces was written in collaboration with the Miami Herald Wish Book Foundation, profiling a five-year-old child with severe disabilities living in a hotel with his homeless parents. Esper has also covered lighter stories, like the Savannah Bananas’ sold-out game at LoanDepot Park, where she used her Caplin News credentials to gain press access. “That was life-changing,” Esper added. “I got to step onto LoanDepot Park, interview players, fans, and the team president. Just having a Caplin News badge gave me press access… Being a multimedia journalist with Caplin News and having that badge opens doors.”
Esper credited her growth to the program’s structure and her mentors, including Charles Strouse, Stephen Kairalla, and Lilliam Martinez-Bustos.
At the heart of this success is “The Caplin Way,” a values-driven approach grounded in objectivity, professionalism, and truth. Through hands-on learning, real-world newsroom experience, and an unflinching dedication to facts, Caplin News prepares students not just to enter the journalism world, but to lead it.
For more about Caplin News and the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media, visit https://caplinnews.fiu.edu.
