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T��ɫ��Ƶ senior Tevin McKenzie and alumnus Jared Hoffman, MFA ’25, Documentary Film, are winners of the College Media Association's 2025 . Competing nationally in the large colleges division, McKenzie, an Advertising/Public Relations major and Journalism minor, received first place in the feature story category for his piece on the . Hoffman received second place in the podcast category for his exploration of the sparked by President Trump's February remarks about redeveloping Gaza under U.S. control.

McKenzie said that he “stumbled into this story by chance,” after being assigned to walk through neighborhoods to unearth any issues worth covering. “When nothing grabbed my attention, I turned to the internet to see what conversations were happening locally,” he said. “That’s when I discovered that I live in the noisiest district in New York City.” That neighborhood, District 12 in the Bronx, encompasses the Baychester, Edenwald, Williamsbridge, Boston Post Road and East Gun Hill Road sections of the borough.

In the course of his reporting, McKenzie found that District 12 became “the city’s undisputed loudest neighborhood,” in 2024, with more than 73,000 noise complaints lodged with 311. The uptick in complaints, he found, had its roots in a multitude of factors, among them increased construction and traffic, along with cultural traditions, such as booming stereos from cars and sidewalks, and all-night parties, reflecting the Caribbean, African American, and Latino origins of many residents.

Many of McKenzie’s interviewees expressed their ambivalence as they shared their experiences of living in an area grappling with the challenges of balancing neighborhood peace with cultural expression. “Their willingness to engage is what solidified my decision to fully pursue the story,” he said.

“Making a list of potential sources was nerve-wracking; up until this assignment, I’d only interviewed a handful of people, most of them fellow CCNY students or people I already knew,” he added. “Reaching out to NYC Council Members and community figures felt intimidating. But the responses I received, especially those willing to speak with me, ultimately confirmed that this topic had depth, urgency, and a real impact on residents.”

Hoffman first saw the “Trump Gaza” video in February 2025. His interest piqued, he tracked down the makers of the video, Ariel Vromen and Solo Avital, both accomplished filmmakers in their own right. Vroman originally thought of the video they created, based on President Trump’s Feb. 4 comment about taking over the Gaza strip and turning it into the Riviera of the Middle East, as “a joke,” he told Hoffman.

The video has all the hallmarks of being AI-generated, Hoffman reported, such as colors and images that seem to be unnatural, as well as strange images of President Trump dancing and of Elon Musk strolling through the territory while eating hummus.

Vroman and Avital sent the finished product out to a few friends in early February, without much response, until Trump posted it on his Truth Social platform on Feb. 25. Then, “things became very real,” Hoffman reported. Since then, Trump’s original post garnered hundreds of thousands of views while the reposted version has attracted more than one million views.

Vromen shrugged off any ethical concerns when Hoffman asked him if he would take on a project such as this if approached by a potential client. “Why not?” he replied. “We need to pay the rent. If I'm not pushing poison to people and aware of it [and] if the contract is right, we'll do it. We're a production company.”

Hoffman’s reporting caused him to consider the implications of this emerging technology.

“If a politician wants to attack the line between truth and fiction, AI is the perfect weapon,” he said in closing. As a result, he concluded, “political messaging will never be the same.”

In addition to the students’ awards, , the multimedia publication of CCNY's Journalism program, within the Division of Humanities and the Arts, received an honorable mention for Media Website of the Year.