Darling, who is from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a student broadcaster with Marshall’s public radio station, WMUL-FM, submitted a podcast that was among 61 entries from 41 universities. His third-place winning entry, worth $1,500, was “Still Making an Impact – Women of the Herd,” broadcast during “Herd Roundup” on Friday, April 10, 2026.
“The Hearst Awards are one of the more prestigious awards given in college journalism because of the limited competition to accredited journalism programs and the monetary awards to the top finishers and their school’s journalism schools/departments,” said Dr. Chuck G. Bailey, professor of Radio-Television Production and Management in the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Marshall University and faculty manager of WMUL-FM.
Darling’s entry was a 10-minute production on the topic of women’s athletics at Marshall University that was assembled in honor of Women’s History Month, which had ended the week before. The podcast underscored the fact that the women’s athletes at Marshall University break records, make history and act as role models to younger girls in the Huntington community. It also emphasized that Thundering Herd women’s athletics should continue to be celebrated year-round.
With the addition of this award, WMUL-FM student broadcasters, Marshall University faculty and staff, and community volunteers have won 100 awards during the 2025-2026 academic year from various student journalism and broadcasting competitions, Bailey said.
The awards this year include 23 first-place awards, 45 second-place awards, seven third-place awards, and 25 honorable mention awards. Since 1985, WMUL-FM broadcasters have won a total of 2,705 awards, including 917 first-place awards.
For more information about Marshall University’s W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications, visit www.marshall.edu/jmc.