WVU News and alumna Kathryn Bruch received 2025 Gracie Awards, continuing the Reed School of Media and Communication’s streak of producing an exceptional, internationally recognized college newscast.
The Gracie Awards were established in 1975 and created by, for and about women in all facets of media and entertainment. Presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF), the Gracies recognize outstanding women in news and entertainment across the globe. Industry leaders evaluate nominations from professionals and students in television, digital media and radio. This year, the AWM is celebrating five decades of recognizing the accomplishments of women in media.
“For 50 years, the Gracie Awards have honored the storytellers who push boundaries and redefine what’s possible,” said Becky Brooks, President of AWMF. “This is more than an awards show—it is a movement that has championed inclusion, representation and truth in the media. The women we celebrate today are shaping the next 50 years, ensuring that our narratives are not just seen or heard but felt and remembered.”
Bruch, a 2024 journalism graduate who was a main anchor for WVU News during her senior year, received the Gracie for Best Student On-Air Talent. Bruch is now a multimedia journalist at WKRG in Mobile, Alabama.
“Kat is one of the most hardworking anchors we’ve had in WVU News,” said Ashton Marra, a Teaching Associate Professor of Journalism and WVU News instructor. “Her passion for telling stories is only surpassed by her commitment to getting them right. In her time on WVU News, she made a lasting impact on her classmates and our program as a whole, encouraging those around her and coming up behind her to be the best they can possibly be. She is a shining example of what it means to be a Mountaineer.”
WVU News won the Gracie for Best College Newscast. This year is the third in a row of Gracie wins for WVU News programming, adding to the over 100 regional, national and international juried awards won by the student-produced newscast in the past decade.
“Our National Gracie recognitions speak to not just the quality of the work of our students but their commitment to ethical, community-based journalism,” Marra said. “Whether they are from the Mountain State or not, they embrace this place and its people as their home and work to tell their stories in a thoughtful way that shows the complexity of who we are as people. I am overwhelmingly proud of what our students have accomplished and grateful for this national recognition of their accomplishments.”
Marra, Bruch and Gina Dahlia, Associate Dean of Student Success and Enrollment and WVU News instructor, will travel to New York City to be recognized at the 2025 Gracies Luncheon on June 18.
For more information about WVU News, visit journalism.wvu.edu. To learn more about the Gracie Awards, visit allwomeninmedia.org/gracies.