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