The William Randolph Hearst Foundation has announced the 29 journalism students representing 16 universities from across the country who will compete in the 65th annual National Championships, held in San Francisco,
May 31 – June 6, 2025.

These finalists’ monthly competition entry submissions were selected as the best from the 1,260 entries received in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program this year and qualified them for the Championships. During the Championships, the finalists will fulfill spot assignments selected by our media professional judges, vying for scholarship awards of $1,500 to $10,000 in each category. We congratulate the 2025 National Championship Finalists!

Writing Finalists
Sophia Abolfathi, University of Florida
Marshall Baker, Arizona State University
Nicole Blevins, Indiana University
Lauren Brensel, University of Florida
Madison Holcomb, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jami Martin-Trainor, University of Iowa
Rylie Oswald, University of Kansas
Ashton Slaughter, Oklahoma State University

Photo Finalists
Emilee Arnold, Western Kentucky University
Chad Cushing, University of Kansas
Abbey Cutrer, University of Kentucky
Ellie Kollme, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Cara Penquite, University of Missouri

Audio Finalists
Julia Boboc, University of Oregon
Pierce Gentry, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Blake Mace, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Layli Nazarova, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Henry Taylor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Television Finalists
Denzen Cortez, Arizona State University
Samantha Hoffman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Nathan Lee, University of Missouri
Ricky Podgorski, University of Maryland
Karina Prieto, Michigan State University

Multimedia Finalists
Faith Cabalum, Michigan State University
Max Feliu, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Brett Phelps, Western Kentucky University
Madeline Powell, Western Kentucky University
Hannah Zinn, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Podcast Finalist
Sarah Ellis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Presently, 105 colleges and universities with accredited undergraduate journalism schools are eligible to participate in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program. Funded and administered for 65 years by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Journalism Program awards up to $700,000 in scholarships, grants and stipends annually.

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Digital News/Enterprise Multimedia Team Competition of the 2024-2025 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. The winners were selected from 60 entries from 35 schools submitted in the final multimedia competition of the year.

First Place has been awarded to Maggie Knutte, Elena Cleary, Nathan Gonzalez, Piper Pascarella, Nour Longi, Faith Lee from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The team wins a $3,000 scholarship for the piece titled “Tailoring Hope.”

There is no Championship component for this team competition.

Second Place, $2,000 award, Aayas Joshi & Anna Connors, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Third Place, $1,500 award, Brett Phelps, Hydia Jackson, Wyatt Richardson, Western Kentucky University
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Vanina Dimitrova, Caroline McCone, Caroline Larson, JJ Measer, Ashlee Klotzbuecher, Halley Paulus, University of Missouri
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Margaret McIntyre, Hannah Zinn, Anna Laible, Hailey Patterson, Mckenzie Bulris, Emily Rollins, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The top five winning schools will receive matching grants.

Sixth-through-tenth place finalists:
Sixth Place, certificate, Lauren Becker, Ranya Jennifer Salvant, Lizzy Lee, Nick Beccar Varela, Daniel Teitelbaum, Erin Morrison, University of Oregon
Seventh Place, certificate, Maria Avlonitis, Kimberly Blum, Sabrina Castro, Gabriella Chavez, Alex Land, Franklin Omar Lopez, Caia Reese, Nathan Thomas, Kat Tran, Luena Rodriguez-Feo Vileira, University of Florida
Eighth Place, certificate, Ali Costello, Connor Marchant, Von Smith, Emilee Arnold, Dominic Di Palermo, Lauren Howe, Preston Jenkins, Kayden Mulrooney, Adin Parks, Arthur H. Trickett-Wile, Sean McInnis, Madeline Powell, Garrett Woodrum, Western Kentucky University
Ninth Place, certificate, Julia Schamko, Denzen Cortez, Sam Ballesteros, Arizona State University
Tenth Place, certificate, Torin Smith and Holland Mowry and team, University Georgia

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has won the Intercollegiate Multimedia Competition with the highest accumulated student points in the four multimedia competitions held this year.
They are followed by:
Western Kentucky University
University of Missouri
University of Florida
University of Oregon
Syracuse University
University of Southern California
Michigan State University
Arizona State University
Pennsylvania University

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively.

The multimedia judges are: Robert Scheer, Deputy Managing Editor for Visuals, Post & Courier; Lauren Frohne, Lead Video Journalist, The Seattle Times; Jim Seida, Producer, NBC News.

The 65th annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program includes four writing, two photo, one audio, two television, one podcast and four multimedia competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends.  Currently, there are 105 universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the inaugural Journalism Podcast Competition of the 2024-2025 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. There were 54 entries from 32 schools submitted in this competition.

First Place has been awarded to Sophia Young, a graduate of Ohio University. Sophia wins a $3,000 award. Since Sophia is a graduate, second place winner Sarah Ellis from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill wins a $2,000 and qualified for the Hearst Championships.

The third-through-fifth place finalists are:
Third Place, $1,500 award, Lydia Svendsen, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Madison Knutson, Arizona State University
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Bayliss Flynn, University of Montana

The top five winning schools receive matching grants.

The sixth-through-tenth place finalists are:
Sixth Place, certificate, Madeleine Ahmadi, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Seventh Place, certificate, Allison Beck, Temple University
Eighth Place, certificate, Ira Mitroshin, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Ninth Place, certificate, Cade Miller, Pennsylvania State University
Tenth Place, certificate, Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval, University of Missouri

University of Missouri has won first place in the Intercollegiate Broadcast Competition with the highest accumulated student points from the four broadcast competitions held this year.

They are followed by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Arizona State University; Michigan State University; University of Florida; University of Maryland; Ohio University; Pennsylvania State University; Western Kentucky University; University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively.

The broadcast judges are: Candy Altman, retired Vice President of News, Hearst Television; Holly Quan, Reporter/Anchor, KCBS Radio; Jeff Bartlett, retired President and General Manager, WMUR-TV.

The 65th annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program added broadcast journalism to the competitions in 1988. The program also includes four writing, two photojournalism and four multimedia competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends.

There are 105 universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Explanatory reporting – Individual/Team Competition of the 2024-2025 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. The winners were selected from 93 entries from 58 schools submitted in the final writing competition of the year.

First Place has been awarded to Madison Holcomb, as senior from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Madison wins a $3,000 scholarship for the article “Millions of livestock die each year while being transported. Those cases are rarely investigated by the USDA” published on investigatemidwest.org.
Madison also qualifies for the National Writing Championship in June 2025.

Second Place, $2,000 award: Rylie Oswald and Elizabeth Walters, University of Kanas
Third Place, $1,500 award: Sophia Abolfathi, University of Florida
Fourth Place, $1,000 award: Kennedy Thomason, Oklahoma State University
Fifth Place, $1,000 award: Finn Lincoln, Syracuse University

The top five winning schools will receive matching grants.

Sixth-through-tenth place finalists:
Sixth Place, certificate: Kiersten Hacker, Christina Walker and Ela Jalil, University of Maryland
Seventh Place, certificate: Jami Martin-Trainor and Colin Votzmeyer, University of Iowa
Eighth Place, certificate: Sinclair Holian, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ninth Place, certificate: Morgan Norris, Hampton University
Tenth Place, certificate: Alex Walters, Owen McCarthy and Theo Scheer, Michigan State University

University of Florida has won the Intercollegiate Writing Competition with the highest accumulated student points from the four writing competitions held this academic year.
They are followed by:
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Iowa
Indiana University
Arizona State University
Texas Christian University
Oklahoma State University
Michigan State University
University of Oregon
Syracuse University

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively

The writing judges are: Maria Reeve, Managing Editor/Vice President, The Star Tribune; Sue Campbell, Managing Editor, Features, The Star Tribune; David Callaway, Founder and Editor, Callaway Climate Insights.

The 65th annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program includes four writing, two photo, one audio, two television, one podcast and four multimedia competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends.  Currently, there are 105 universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

2024-2025 Hearst Television News Winners Announced

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Television News Competition of the
2024-2025 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.
There were 78 entries from 47 schools submitted in the second television competition of the year.

First Place has been awarded to Denzen Cortez, a senior from the Arizona State University. Denzen wins a $3,000 award and qualifies for the National Television Championship which will be in San Francisco in June 2025.

The second-through-fifth place finalists are:
Second Place, $2,000 award, Siobhan Harms, University of Missouri
Third Place, $1,500 award, Ethan Hunter, Michigan State University
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Leah Phillips, Arizona State University
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Samantha Hoffman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The top five winning schools receive matching grants.

The sixth-through-tenth place finalists are:
Sixth Place, certificate, Ricky Podgorski, University of Maryland
Seventh Place, certificate, Karina Prieto, Michigan State University
Eighth Place, certificate, Nicole Marino, Louisiana State University
Ninth Place, certificate, Claudia Di Lima, West Virginia University
Tenth Place, certificate, Bethany Cates, University of Missouri

University of Missouri is in first place in the Intercollegiate Broadcast Competition with the highest accumulated student points from the first three broadcast competitions.

They are followed by: Arizona State University; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Michigan State University; University of Florida; University of Maryland; Western Kentucky University; Louisiana State University; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Pennsylvania State University.

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively, and will be announced after the completion of the podcast competition in May.

The television judges are: Candy Altman, retired Vice President of News, Hearst Television; Holly Quan, Reporter/Anchor, KCBS Radio; Jeff Bartlett, retired President and General Manager, WMUR-TV.

The 65th annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program added broadcast journalism to the competitions in 1988. The program also includes four writing, two photojournalism and four multimedia competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends. There are 105 universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to
participate in the Hearst competitions.

Hearst Multimedia Digital News/Enterprise Competition Winners Announced

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Digital News or Enterprise Story Multimedia Competition of the 2024-2025 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. The winners were selected from 73 entries from 42 schools submitted in the third multimedia competition of the year.

First Place has been awarded to Eden McCall, a spring graduate from University of Oregon. Eden wins a $3,000 scholarship for the piece titled “Nature Next Door: A tiny pond surrounded by Bend Oregon’s urban
landscape entices a vanishing frog, and the people seeking to save it.”

Since Eden is a spring 2024 graduate, per our guidelines, she is not eligible for the Championship.
The second-place winner, Madeline Powell, a senior from Western Kentucky University, wins $2,000 and qualifies for the National Multimedia Championship in June 2025.

Third Place, $1,500 award, Quincy Marks, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Hannah Zinn, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Cara Penquite, University of Missouri

The top five winning schools will receive matching grants.

Sixth-through-tenth place finalists:
Sixth Place, certificate, Lauren Howe, Western Kentucky University
Seventh Place, certificate, Courtney Benedetto, Pennsylvania State University
Eighth Place, certificate, Bailey Korinek, University of Florida
Ninth Place, certificate, Fitz Cain, University of Southern California
Tenth Place, certificate, Nicole Borman, University Florida

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is in first place in the Intercollegiate Multimedia Competition with the highest accumulated student points in the first three multimedia competitions held thus far.
They are followed by:
Western Kentucky University
University of Southern California
University of Florida
University of Missouri
Michigan State University (tie)
University of Oregon (tie)
Syracuse University
University of Nevada, Reno
Arizona State University

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively. The
final intercollegiate winners will be announced after the completion of the fourth multimedia competition and presented during the National Championships in San Francisco this June.

The multimedia judges are: Robert Scheer, Deputy Managing Editor for Visuals, Post & Courier; Lauren Frohne, Lead Video Journalist, The Seattle Times; Jim Seida, Producer, NBC News.

The 65th annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program includes four writing, two photo, one audio, two television, one podcast and four multimedia competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends.  Currently, there are 105 universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Photojournalism Picture Story/Series Competition of the 2024-2025 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. The winners were selected from 86 entries from 52 schools
submitted in the second photo competition of the year.

First Place has been awarded to Ellie Kollme, a junior from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ellie wins a $3,000 scholarship and qualifies for the National Photojournalism Championship in June 2025.

Second Place, $2,000 award, Chad Cushing, University of Kansas
Third Place, $1,500 award, Arthur Trickett-Wile, Western Kentucky University
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Abbey Cutrer, University of Kentucky
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Maddie McCuddy, University of Montana

The top five winning schools will receive matching grants.

Sixth-through-tenth place finalists:
Sixth Place, certificate, Diana Valdivia, Syracuse University
Seventh Place, certificate Charley Szydlyk, Ohio University
Eighth Place, certificate, Cara Penquite, University of Missouri
Ninth Place, certificate, Sean McInnis, Western Kentucky University
Tenth Place, certificate, Matthew Mueller, University of Kentucky

Western Kentucky University has won the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition with the highest
accumulated student points from the two photo competitions held this year.
They are followed by:
University of Kentucky
University of Montana
University of Kansas
Ohio University
University of Missouri
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Syracuse University
University of Arizona
University of Florida

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively. These awards will be
presented at the Intercollegiate Presentation held during the National Championships in June.

The photojournalism judges are: Nicole Frugé, Director of Visuals, The San Francisco Chronicle; Danny Gawlowski, Senior Manager, Communications and Policy, Carbon to Sea; and Elodie Mailliet Storm, CEO, CatchLight.

The Hearst Journalism Awards Program introduced photojournalism to its competitions in 1970. Now in its 65th year, the program includes four writing competitions, two photojournalism competitions, one audio, two
television, one podcast, and four multimedia competitions. The Program offers up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants, and stipends. Currently, 105 universities with accredited undergraduate journalism programs – members of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication – are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

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San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Personality/Profile Writing Competition of the 2024-2025 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. The winners were selected from 127 entries from 72 schools submitted in the third writing competition of the year.

First Place has been awarded to Nicole Blevins, a senior from Indiana University.
Nicole wins a $3,000 scholarship for the article “ ‘We deserve to stay’ – Dreamer faces uncertainty as election
approaches.” Nicole also qualifies for the National Writing Championship in June 2025.

Second Place, $2,000 award, Marshall Baker, Arizona State University
Third Place, $1,500 award, Hanna Maglio, University of Florida
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Isabella Reilly, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Mia Hilkowitz, Indiana University

The top five winning schools will receive matching grants.

Sixth-through-tenth place finalists:
Sixth Place, certificate, Laura Augenbraun, University of Connecticut
Seventh Place, certificate, Jami Martin-Trainor, University of Iowa
Eighth Place, certificate, Lauren Penington, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Ninth Place, certificate, Estelle Jarrett, University of Connecticut
Tenth Place, certificate, Emma Kelly, Pennsylvania State University

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is in first place in the Intercollegiate Writing Competition with the highest accumulated student points from the three writing competitions held thus far. They are followed by: University of Florida; Arizona State University; University of Iowa (tie); Indiana University (tie); University of Oregon; Texas Christian University; University of Connecticut; Pennsylvania State University; University of Nebraska-Lincoln (tie); Michigan State University (tie).

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively. The final intercollegiate winners will be announced after the completion of the last writing competition and presented during the National Championships in San Francisco this June.

The writing judges are: Maria Reeve, Managing Editor/Vice President, The Star Tribune; Sue Campbell, Managing Editor, Features, The Star Tribune; David Callaway, Founder and Editor, Callaway Climate Insights.

The 65th annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program includes four writing, two photo, one audio, two television, one podcast and four multimedia competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends.  Currently, there are 105 universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

# # #

Hearst Multimedia Innovative Journalism Competition Winners Announced

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Innovative Journalism Competition of the 2024-2025 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. The winners were selected from 39 entries from 27 schools submitted in the second multimedia competition of the year.

First Place has been awarded to Brett Phelps, a senior from Western Kentucky University. Brett wins a $3,000 scholarship for the piece titled “A New Road to Travel.” Brett also qualifies for the National Multimedia Championship in June 2025.

Second Place, $2,000 award, Max Feliu, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Third Place, $1,500 award, Madeline Powell, Western Kentucky University
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Gerard Millman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Murphy McFarlane, Syracuse University

The top five winning schools will receive matching grants.

Sixth-through-tenth place finalists:
Sixth Place, certificate, Rita Sabler, University of Oregon
Seventh Place, certificate, Julia Zara, University of Southern California
Eighth Place, certificate, Abigail Landwehr, University of Missouri
Ninth Place, certificate, Ethan Huang, University of Southern California
Tenth Place, certificate, Aidan Maher, University of Nevada, Reno

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is in first place in the Intercollegiate Multimedia Competition with the highest accumulated student points in the first two multimedia competitions held thus far this year.
They are followed by:
Western Kentucky University
University of Nevada, Reno
Syracuse University (tie)
Michigan State University (tie)
University of Southern California
University of Maryland
University of Montana
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
University of Florida (tie)
University of Missouri (tie)

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively. The final intercollegiate winners will be announced after the completion of the four multimedia competitions and presented during the National Championships in San Francisco this June.

The multimedia judges are: Robert Scheer, Deputy Managing Editor for Visuals, Post & Courier; Lauren Frohne, Lead Video Journalist, The Seattle Times; Jim Seida, Producer, NBC News.

The 65th annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program includes four writing, two photo, one audio, two television, one podcast and four multimedia competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends.  Currently, there are 105 universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

Hearst Sports Writing Competition Winners Announced

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Sports Writing Competition of the 2024-2025 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. The winners were selected from 135 entries from 73 schools submitted in the second writing competition of the year.

First Place has been awarded to Ashton Slaughter, a senior from Oklahoma State University.
Ashton wins a $3,000 scholarship for the article “A Tulsa high school football player almost died on the field. It gave him a mission to help others.” Ashton also qualifies for the National Writing Championship in June 2025.

Second Place, $2,000 award, Ana Narayan, University of Oregon
Third Place, $1,500 award, Aaron Decker, Arizona State University
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Greg Finberg, Pennsylvania State University
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Zach Carter, Ball State University

The top five winning schools will receive matching grants.

Sixth-through-tenth place finalists:
Sixth Place, certificate, Ethan Horton, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Seventh Place, certificate, Madeleine Moore, University of Oregon
Eighth Place, certificate, Wally McKeon, Syracuse University
Ninth Place, certificate, Ryan Mack, Temple University
Tenth Place, certificate, Luke Owen, University of Connecticut

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is in first place in the Intercollegiate Writing Competition with the highest accumulated student points from the two writing competitions held thus far.
They are followed by: University of Florida, University of Iowa, Texas Christian University, University of Oregon, Arizona State University, Drake University, Temple University, Florida International University, Oklahoma State University.

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively. The final intercollegiate winners will be announced after the completion of the last writing competition and presented during the National Championships in San Francisco this June.

The writing judges are: Maria Reeve, Managing Editor/Vice President, The Star Tribune; Sue Campbell, Managing Editor, Features, The Star Tribune; David Callaway, Founder and Editor, Callaway Climate Insights.

The 65th annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program includes four writing, two photo, one audio, two television, one podcast and four multimedia competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends.  Currently, there are 105 universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.