San Francisco – Winning college journalists in the 63rd National Writing, Photojournalism, Audio, Television and Multimedia Championships were announced on June 7, 2023 by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program. The Hearst Championships are the culmination of the 2022 – 2023 Journalism Awards Program, which were held in 105 member universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs.
The 30 Championship finalists were selected 1,304 entries submitted in the 14 monthly competitions this
academic year. From June 2 – 7, the finalists participated in the National Championships in San Francisco, where they demonstrated their writing, photography, audio, television, and multimedia skills in spot assignments. The assignments were chosen by media professionals who judged the finalists’ work throughout the year and at the Championships.
Following are the winners and the scholarships they received:
National Writing Championship
First Place, $10,000 award: Anna Guber, University of Florida
Second Place, $7,500 award: Nicolas Napier, Indiana University
Third Place, $5,000 award: Griffen Smith, University of Montana
Writing Championship runners-up listed in alphabetical order:
Finalist, $1,500 award: Katherine Delk, University of Florida
Finalist, $1,500 award: Austin Hanson, University of Iowa
Finalist, $1,500 award: Eli Hoff, University of Missouri
Finalist, $1,500 award: Andrew Lwowski, Arizona State University
Finalist, $1,500 award: Alasdair McNinch, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
National Photojournalism Championship
First Place, $10,000 award: Wesley Lapointe, University of Oregon
Second Place, $7,500 award: Laura Bilson, Ohio University
Third Place, $5,000 award: Kennedy Gott, Western Kentucky University
Photo Championship runners-up listed in alphabetical order:
Finalist, $1,500 award: Annie Barker, Michigan State University
Finalist, $1,500 award: J’sha Gift, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Finalist, $1,500 award Lauren Witte, University of Florida
National Audio Championship
First Place, $10,000 award: Sophie Mallinson, U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Second Place, $7,500 award: John Perik, Syracuse University
Third Place, $5,000 award: Brianna Atkinson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Audio Championship runners-up listed in alphabetical order:
Finalist, $1,500 award: Hallie Gutzwiller, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Finalist, $1,500 award: Briana Heaney, University of Missouri
National Television Championship
First Place, $10,000 award: Ophelie Jacobson, University of Florida
Second Place, $7,500 award: Nicole Aponte, Syracuse University
Third Place, $5,000 award: Rachel Henderson, University of Missouri
Television Championship runners-up listed in alphabetical order:
Finalist, $1,500 award: Cameron Joiner, University of Oklahoma
Finalist, $1,500 award: Julie Koharik, University of Missouri
Finalist, $1,500 award: Christopher Will, University of Florida
National Multimedia Championship
First Place, $10,000 award: Alexandra Schallert, Western Kentucky University
Second Place, $7,500 award: Angelina Katsanis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Third Place, $5,000 award: Alexis Ashby, University of Florida
Multimedia Championship runners-up listed in alphabetical order:
Finalist, $1,500 award: Avery Lotz, University of Florida
Finalist, $1,500 award: Drake Presto, Arizona State University
Special Awards
$1,000 award for Best Article of the Year went to Eli Hoff, University of Missouri.
$1000 award for Best Reporting Technique went to Anna Guber, University of Florida.
Those awards were selected from the monthly writing competition entries.
$1,000 award for Best Single Photo from the Semi-Finals when to Leslie Ostronic, Ohio University.
$1,000 award for Best Portfolio from the Semi-Finals went to Annie Barker, Michigan State University.
$1,000 award for Best Use of Audio for News Coverage went to John Perik, Syracuse University. This award was selected from the monthly audio entries.
$1,000 award for Best Use of Television for News Coverage went to Julie Koharik, University of Missouri. This award was selected from the television semi-final entries.
$1,000 award for Best Multimedia Story of the Year went to Angelina Katsanis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This award was selected from the monthly competition entries.
The writing judges were: Maria Reeve, Vice President – Editor for Content Initiatives for Hearst Texas; Sue Campbell, Editorial Director, AME/Features, Star Tribune Magazine; David Callaway, Founder and Editor, Callaway Climate Insights.
The photojournalism judges were:: Marcia Allert, Managing Photo Producer, Apple; Nicole Frugé, Director of Visuals, The San Francisco Chronicle; Danny Gawlowski, Assistant Managing Editor, The Seattle Times.
The audio and television judges were: Candy Altman, retired Vice President of News, Hearst Television; Holly Quan, Reporter/Anchor, KCBS Radio; Joe Rovitto, President, Clemensen & Rovitto LLC.
The multimedia Judges were: Jarrad Henderson, Independent Visual Journalist; Meredith Hogan, Senior Creative Producer, Red Element Studios; Robert Scheer, Visual Journalist, The Indianapolis Star.
The William Randolph Hearst Foundation was established by its namesake in 1948 under California non-profit laws, exclusively for educational and charitable purposes. Since then, the Hearst Foundations have contributed over 1 billion dollars to numerous educational programs, health and medical care, human services and the arts in every state.
The Hearst Journalism Awards Program was founded in 1960 to support, encourage and give assistance to journalism education through scholarships for outstanding college students. Since its inception, the program has distributed more than $15 million in scholarships and grants for the exceptional work by student journalists who participate in the program.
