In their own words…
“Putting together two stories in one day in an unfamiliar city was as stressful an assignment any of us have faced. You soon learn the importance of deadlines and the tough fact that 75% of the sources you call at 8:00 a.m. will wait until 3:30 p.m. to call you back. But the best part of the Hearst competition in San Francisco is that by the end of the first night, it didn’t feel like a competition at all. Although I ended up with the top prize, I would have been just as happy if one of the other finalists took it home. That’s because the real pleasure of competing in the Hearst was meeting and becoming friends with the rest of the best of the best. We came from all corners of the country, but by the end of the week, we collectively were the “Hearst News Team.” (With enough inside jokes to tease each other for a lifetime.”
