2012 Hearst National Championship Winners

NEWS  RELEASE 

2012  HEARST  NATIONAL  CHAMPIONSHIP  WINNERS  NAMED 

San Francisco – Winning college journalists in the National Writing, Photojournalism, Broadcast News and Multimedia Championships were announced on June 7, 2012 by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program.

The Hearst Championships are the culmination of the 2011 – 2012 Journalism Awards Program, which are held in 106 member colleges and universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs.

From June 4th through the 7th, 29 finalists – all winners from the 14 monthly competitions – participated in the 52nd annual Hearst Championships in San Francisco where they demonstrated their writing, photography, radio, television and multimedia skills in rigorous on-the-spot assignments.  The assignments were decided by media professionals who judged the finalists’ work throughout the year and at the Championships.  Winners were announced during the final awards ceremony on June 7th.  The following are the first, second and third place winners and the scholarships they received:

NATIONAL  WRITING  CHAMPIONSHIP 

First Place, JON  SILMAN, University of Florida, $5,000 award

Second Place, BIZ  CARSON, Indiana University, $4,000 award

Third Place, J. WESTON  PHIPPEN, Arizona State University, $3,000 award

NATIONAL  PHOTOJOURNALISM  CHAMPIONSHIP 

First Place, MEG  ROUSSOS, Ohio University, $5,000 award

Second Place, BRYNN  ANDERSON, Western Kentucky University, $4,000 award

Third Place, ARMANDO  L. SANCHEZ, Western Kentucky University, $3,000 award

NATIONAL  RADIO  BROADCAST  NEWS  CHAMPIONSHIP 

First Place, STEVEN  GALLO, University of Florida, $5,000 award

Second Place, REEMA  KHRAIS , U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $4,000 award

Third Place, CLARK  HODGES , University of Montana, $3,000 award

NATIONAL  TELEVISION  BROADCAST  NEWS  CHAMPIONSHIP 

First Place, DANIEL  NELIGH, Arizona State University,  $5,000 award

Second Place, NATASHA  ZOUVES, University of Southern California, $4,000 award

Third Place, DAVID  EARL  WIETLISPACH, University of Missouri, $3,000 award

NATIONAL  MULTIMEDIA  CHAMPIONSHIP 

First Place, JON  KASBE, U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $5,000 award

Second Place, ZACK  CONKLE,  Western Kentucky University, $4,000 award

Third Place,  SARAH  HOFFMAN, University of Missouri, $3,000 award

Five finalists in the Writing Championship, who will each receive a $1,500 scholarship, are (listed in alphabetical order):  ELLEN  JEAN  HIRST, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; TREY MILLER, Pennsylvania State University; TAYLOR  DANIELLE  MOAK, University of Kentucky; ANNA ORSO, Pennsylvania State University; KELLY  PARSONS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The $1,000 Award for Best Reporting Technique went to BIZ  CARSON, Indiana University, for her article in titled “Lauren Spierer: ‘She’s not a poster. She’s a person.’” published in the Indiana Daily Student.  The Article of the Year Award of $1,000 went to ELLEN  JEAN  HIRST, University Nebraska-Lincoln, for her article titled ” Turned Away” published in Bolivia Reborn.

Three finalists in the Photojournalism Championship, who will each receive a $1,500 scholarship, are (listed in alphabetical order):  ANDY  COLWELL, Pennsylvania State University; ELIJAH  NOUVELAGE, San Francisco State University; CHRISTIAN RANDOLPH, Western Kentucky University.

The $1,000 Award for Best Single Photograph went to ARMANDO  L.  SANCHEZ, Western Kentucky University; and the Best Photo Story Award of $1,000 went to BRYNN ANDERSON, Western Kentucky University. Those awards were selected from the semi-final portfolios.

Two finalists in the Radio Broadcast News Championship, who will each receive a $1,500 scholarship, are (listed in alphabetical order):  HEATHER  ARONNO, University of Alaska, Anchorage;  STEPHEN  TANNER, Brigham Young University.

Two finalists in the Television Broadcast News Championship, who will each receive a $1,500 scholarship, are (listed in alphabetical order):  BLAKE  HANSON, University of Missouri; NATHAN  O’NEAL, Arizona State University.

The $1,000 Award for Best Use of Radio For News Coverage went to HEATHER  ARONNO, University of Alaska, Anchorage.  The Best Use of Television For News Coverage Award of $1,000 went to NATHAN  O’NEAL, Arizona State University. Those awards were selected from the monthly entries.

Two finalists in the Multimedia Championship, who will each receive a $1,500 scholarship, are (listed in alphabetical order): KELLEY KING, Pennsylvania State University;  JONATHAN  REED, University of Alabama.

The $1,000 Award for Multimedia Story of the Year went to ZACK CONKLE, Western Kentucky University, for his piece titled “The Only Sure Thing” entered in the Human Condition category of the monthly multimedia competitions.

The Awards Ceremony was held at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in the Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco.  William Randolph Hearst III, President of the Board and Chair of the Journalism Awards Program, delivered the keynote speech of the evening.

The writing judges were:  Ward Bushee, Editor and Executive Vice President, The San Francisco Chronicle; Marty Kaiser, Editor and Senior Vice President, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; and Jennifer Sizemore, Vice President/Editor-in-Chief, MSNBC.com and Executive Producer, NBC News.

The photojournalism judges were:  Ken Geiger, Deputy Director of Photography, National Geographic Magazine, Washington, D.C.; Steve Gonzales, Director of Photography, Houston Chronicle, TX; and Geri Migielicz, Executive Editor, Story4, Ben Lomond, CA.

The broadcast news judges were: Edward Esposito, Vice President, Information Media, Rubber City Radio Group, Akron, OH; Kate O’Brian, Senior Vice President, ABC News, New York, NY; and Fred Young, retired Senior Vice President of News, Hearst Television Inc., Yardley, PA.

The Multimedia Judges were: Cory Tolbert Haik, Executive Producer, News, Innovations and Strategic Projects, The Washington Post, Arlington, VA, Geri Migielicz, Executive Editor, Story4, Ben Lomond, CA; and Jennifer Sizemore, VP/ Editor-in-Chief, Msnbc.om, Executive Producer, NBC News.

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 $901 million to numerous educational programs, health and medical care, human services and the arts in every state.

 

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Contact:
Jan C. Watten, program director
415-908-4565
jwatten@hearstfdn.org