Montclair School of Communication and Media Students Earn Honorable Mention in PRSSA’s National 2025 Bateman Case Study Competition

 The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), the foremost organization for students interested in the public relations and communications fields, announced that an entry from a team of Montclair State University School of Communication and Media students received an honorable mention in the prestigious 2025 Bateman Case Study Competition. This marks the fourth consecutive year the school has placed among the top schools, including a second-place finish in 2024.

This year’s Bateman Case Study Competition was hosted in partnership with EveryLibrary.org, a nonpartisan education nonprofit dedicated to building a news-literate nation. The competition challenged student teams to research, plan, implement and evaluate a public relations campaign to support libraries and raise awareness on the challenges they face today including censorship and book banning. 

Montclair’s month-long campaign – “EveryLibrary, EveryVoice”- sought to educate students about the challenges libraries face today and inspire them to take action. The team’s campaign highlighted how libraries are essential in promoting diversity, equity, and why their continued protection is crucial. As part of the campaign, the Bateman team focused on support for EveryLibrary’s efforts to defend libraries from ongoing challenges to intellectual freedom, including book bans and restrictions on access to diverse perspectives. The “EveryLibrary, EveryVoice” campaign featured various on-campus events, partnerships with area libraries, a PSA in Spanish and English that aired on Telemundo47 and WNBC, an intimate roundtable discussion moderated by Telemundo47 news anchor Cristina Navarrete, and a banned book movie night featuring Wicked.

“Our students developed a dynamic campaign that both engaged and educated their peers on the importance of supporting public libraries,” said Erin Weinberg, Assistance Teaching Professor and Bateman team adviser at the School of Communication and Media. “The team made an impact on our campus and with the broader community, all while gaining real-life experience creating a public relations campaign, which is the true win here.”   

The “EveryLibrary, EveryVoice” campaign was developed and implemented by students Libby Brennan (’25), Mary Lage (’25), Hallie Lippey (’25), Noelia Aguirre Reyes (’26) and Grace Velazquez (’27).  

About the BATEMAN CASE STUDY COMPETITION and Public Relations Student Society of America
The Bateman Case Study Competition originated in 1973 as a national case study allowing PRSSA members to exercise the analytical skills required for public relations problem-solving. The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) is the foremost organization for students interested in public relations and communications. Founded in 1968 by its parent organization, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), PRSSA includes nearly 9,000 student members and advisers, and is active on nearly 375 colleges and university campuses, including in Argentina, Colombia, Peru and Puerto Rico. 

About the School of Communication and Media: The School of Communication and Media offers a range of dynamic programs in communication and media to a talented and diverse student population of over 2,000. Offering degrees in film and television, social media and public relations, advertising, journalism and digital media, sports communication, communication and media studies, animation and visual effects, and an MA devoted to strategic communication, the School prepares the next generation of communication and media practitioners and leaders. The School houses award-winning student programs that include WMSC Radio, The Montclarion newspaper,  Hawk Communications Agency, the Red Hawk Sports Network, Hawk+ OTT streaming platform, and News Lab, as well as the Center for Cooperative Media, which serves the public by working to grow and strengthen local journalism. Student projects and programs have recently received national recognition from PRSSA’s Bateman Competition, an Edward R Murrow Award, several Marconi Award nominations, and a College Television Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

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