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2021 Television Championship

This year, 174 entries were submitted in the Features and News television competitions. The first-place winners of those competitions qualified for the Championship. In addition, eight top finalists from those competitions submitted entries for a semi-final round of judging. From that round, three additional finalists were selected to participate in the Hearst National Television Championship.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Championship was held virtually again this year. Finalists met their judges on line and fulfilled their assignments from home.

The judges Candy Altman, Holly Quan and Joe Rovitto met the finalists via Zoom to review the spot assignment. The finalists then produced their Championship stories from home.

The assignment: “The County Opens Up: After 14 months of the devastating toll of Covid 19, restrictions on our daily lives and economic hardship for many, the country is opening up. What does that look like? What does it mean? Your assignment is to report on this change from any perspective you choose focused on where you live.”

The first-through-third place winners were awarded scholarships of $10,000, $7,500, and $5,000 respectively.

The two finalists earned $1,500 scholarships each.

An additional $1,000 award for Best Use of Television for News Coverage was selected from the semi-final competition submissions.

The winners and finalists are featured below.