Above from left, Deborah Kearns, Paige Tepping and Jesse Williams.
RISMedia garnered several distinguished awards earlier this week, including a Gold Award for Best Online Mortgage Story, at the National Association of Real Estate Editors’ (NAREE) 2025 Journalism Competition, held during the organization’s conference at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, June 16-19.
This prestigious competition, now in its 75th year, recognizes excellence in reporting, writing and editing stories about residential and commercial real estate. A panel of expert judges from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University selected all winners.
RISMedia Contributing Editor Deborah Kearns received a Gold Award for Best Online Residential, Mortgage or Financial Real Estate Story for her feature article “Mortgage Industry Exodus: ‘Nearly Half’ of Producing Loan Officers Have Left the Business,” published in June of last year.
The judges comments included, “Deborah Kearns shines a spotlight on mortgage loan officers as thousands have been laid off in the past few years. She balances data giving a macro look at the challenges facing the industry alongside personal anecdotes of loan officers trying to navigate the uncertainties of the real estate industry in terms of their own careers and livelihoods. She clearly shows how the overlapping pressures of higher interest rates, low housing inventory and concentration of business in the hands of the top loan originators creates a ‘no-win situation’ for those not at the top, who turn to multiple side gigs or exit the industry entirely.”
Of the honors, Kearns said, “It means a lot to receive such high honors when you’re being judged alongside the best in the business…to earn this recognition and to see that my work moves the needle for (RISMedia’s) readers and is valued.”
RISMedia Senior Managing Editor Paige Tepping won a Silver Award for Best Residential Real Estate Trade Magazine for the February 2024 issue of RISMedia’s Real Estate magazine. It was the third consecutive year that Real Estate magazine won a NAREE Silver award.
The judges stated: “This magazine gives agents and brokers what they need to know, under sections called Headliners, Coaching, Team Talk, Business Builders and Trends and Issues. It also highlights newsmakers, like CoStar Founder and CEO Andy Florance, who recently started a big Homes.com marketing campaign. The magazine runs a Q&A with a young woman (agent) with a side gig as a “golf content creator”–and another Q&A with the president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices’ New York Properties’ New York City brokerage. It also gives its readers good ‘news you can use.’ For example, a Q&A called, ‘Tips for Talking to Potential Buyer Clients About Commissions’ talks about being open about not working for free and about bringing up and explaining the NAR lawsuits. The ‘Hall of Fame’ profiles also seem like a must-read for people in the industry.”
Additionally, RISMedia’s Content Director Jesse Williams received an Honorable Mention in the Best Video Real Estate Report Online or Broadcast – Streaming or Television category for his Broker Confidence Index report, “Brokers Expect Post-Election Sales Jump, With Rates Dependent on Outcome.”
RISMedia EVP and Executive Editor Maria Patterson lauded the journalists for their achievements. “At a time when media is under a microscope, and the need for quality journalism is greater than ever, these prestigious awards from NAREE are extremely meaningful,” Patterson said. “This recognition of Debbie’s, Paige’s and Jesse’s work reflects the broader efforts of our entire editorial team to consistently deliver timely and accurate content to our national audience of real estate professionals. I am extremely proud of our team’s accomplishments.”
To see the full list of this year’s winners, visit https://www.naree.org/2025winners.
