Hearst Feature Writing Competition Winners

NEWS RELEASE

San Francisco – The top 20 winners in college feature writing were announced today in the 47th annual William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program, in which more than 100 undergraduate journalism programs at colleges and universities across the nation participate.

First Place has been awarded to NICOLE M. SMITH, of California State University, Fullerton. She will receive a $2,000 scholarship for her winning article titled “The Quiet Custodian” published in Tusk Magazine. California State University, Fullerton will receive a matching grant, as do the journalism departments of all scholarship winners. The second place winner, LEAH LOSHE, from University of Missouri, will receive a $1,500 scholarship. Nicole and Leah both graduated in the spring of 2006, and consequently are not eligible to participate in the championship round, as pursuant to the program guidelines. As a result, third place winner, TYEESHA DIXON, from University of Maryland, wins a $1,000 scholarship and qualifies for the National Writing Championship in June 2007.

Other scholarship winners are:
DANIEL FORD, University of Memphis, fourth place, $750 scholarship
AMY MAY, University of Montana, fifth place, $600 scholarship
KARI HAMANAKA, California State University, Fullerton, sixth place, $500 scholarship
STEPHANIE CHEN, Northwestern University, seventh place, $500 scholarship
AMY EDGERTON, University of Georgia, eighth place, $500 scholarship
WILLIAM ATKINSON, Winthrop University, ninth place, $500 scholarship
JOANNA BORNS, Indiana University, tenth place, $500 scholarship

California State University, Fullerton placed first in the Intercollegiate Writing Competition with the highest accumulated student points from the first competition of the academic year. It is followed by: University of Missouri; University of Georgia; University of Montana; University of Maryland; University of Memphis; Northwestern University; Winthrop University; Indiana University; University of Alabama.

The Hearst Journalism Awards Program is conducted under the auspices of accredited schools of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication, and fully funded and administered by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. It consists of six monthly writing, three photojournalism and four broadcast news competitions, with championship finals in all divisions. The program awards more than $450,000 in scholarships and grants annually.

Judging the writing competition this year are: Pat Andrews, Assistant Managing Editor, The Miami Herald, Pembroke Pines, FL; Stephen Buckley, Managing Editor, The St. Petersburg Times, FL, and Arthur S. Brisbane, Former Senior Vice President, Knight Ridder, Inc., Monte Sereno, CA.

Students who placed among the top 20 and will receive certificates of merit are:

KEVIN DRULEY, University of Missouri, eleventh place
NICHOLAS D. BEADLE, University of Alabama, twelfth place
JACE BARTET, University of Georgia, thirteenth place
JANESSA CLOWARD, Brigham Young University, fourteenth place-tie
BRENT R. DAGGETT, Bowling Green State University, fourteenth place-tie
NICOLE NORFLEET, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, fourteenth place-tie
JAMES KINDLE, Arizona State University, seventeenth place-tie
MAGGIE STEHR, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, seventeenth place-tie
GABE WICKLUND, Texas Christian University, nineteenth place-tie
JOHN W. COX, University of Florida, nineteenth place-tie

There were 114 students from 65 universities and colleges who participated in the program’s first competition of this academic year. For samples of winning work, please check the monthly winners section of the Journalism Awards’ website, www.hearstawards.org

Contact:
Jan C. Watten, Program Director
415-543-6033, ext. 308
jwatten@hearstfdn.org