The William Randolph Hearst Foundation has announced the 28 journalism students from across the country who will compete in the 56th annual National Writing, Photojournalism, Radio, Television and Multimedia Championships held in San Francisco, May 30 – June 3, 2016.

The finalists include eight writing finalists, six photojournalism finalists, five radio finalists, five television finalists and four multimedia finalists chosen from the monthly competitions, selected from a record 1,261 entries from 100 colleges and universities this year. At the Championships, the finalists will participate in various spot assignments chosen by our judges, competing for additional scholarship awards ranging from $1,500 to $5,000.

The 2016 National Championship Finalists are:

WRITING FINALISTS
Hannah Alani, Indiana University
Will Drabold, Ohio University
Kaelynn Knoernschild, Oklahoma State University
Erin McCarthy, Pennsylvania State University
Cody Stavenhagen, Oklahoma State University
Taylor Telford, Indiana University
Jordan Wilson, University of Illinois
Alden Woods, Indiana University

PHOTOJOURNALISM FINALISTS
Dillon Deaton, U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Brittany Greeson, Western Kentucky University
Emily Harger, Ohio University
Tegan Johnston, U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Calla Kessler, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Nick Wagner, Western Kentucky University

RADIO FINALISTS
Martha Daniel, University of Southern California
Evan Hummel, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jacob McAuliffe, Arizona State University
Tommy Rezac, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Jasmine Turner, Howard University

TELEVISION FINALISTS
CB Cotton, U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Yahaira Jacquez, Arizona State University
Jaclyn Lee, U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Marc Sallinger, University of Southern California
Ben Smart, U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

MULTIMEDIA FINALISTS
Cat Cardenas, University of Texas at Austin
Luke Rafferty, Syracuse University
Emily Rhyne, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Alyse Young, Western Kentucky University

Presently, 108 colleges and universities with accredited undergraduate journalism schools are eligible to participate in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program. Funded and administered for 56 years by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Journalism Program awards up to $500,000 in scholarships, grants and stipends annually.