Hearst National Championship Winners Named

NEWS RELEASE
SAN FRANCISCO – Winning college journalists in the National Writing, Photojournalism and Broadcast News Championships were announced on June 9, 2007 by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation Journalism Awards Program.

The Hearst Championships – the culmination of the 2006-2007 Journalism Awards Program, with 107 undergraduate colleges and universities competing under the auspices of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication – were held in San Francisco, June 4 – 10, 2007.

Finalists were brought to San Francisco to demonstrate their writing, photography, radio and television skills in rigorous on-the-spot assignments. Assignments were decided by non-Hearst media professionals, also brought in to judge the students’ work. The following are the first, second and third place winners and the scholarships they received:
National Writing Championship

First Place, HALLE STOCKTON, Pennsylvania State University, $5,000 scholarship

Second Place, DANIEL C. FORD, University of Memphis, $4,000 scholarship

Third Place, MEGAN G. BOEHNKE, University of Kentucky, $3,000 scholarship
National Photojournalism Championship

First Place, BRIAN LEHMANN, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, $5,000 award

Second Place, BEN FREDMAN, University of Missouri, $4,000 award

Third Place, JONATHAN D. WOODS, Western Kentucky University, $3,000 award
National Radio Broadcast News Championship

First Place, DANIELLE WOOD, Brigham Young University, $5,000 award

Second Place, KIMBERLY J. SALTMARSH, Hofstra University, $4,000 award

Third Place, MELANIE OVERCAST, University of Montana, $3,000 award
National Television Broadcast News Championship

First Place, ELIAS JOHNSON, Arizona State University, $5,000 award

Second Place, PAUL J. GESSLER, Marshall University, $4,000 award

Third Place, AMANDA GOODMAN, Arizona State University, $3,000 award
Five runners-up in the Writing Championship, who will each receive a $1,500 scholarship, are (listed in alphabetical order): TATIANA HENSLEY, Arizona State University; STEFANIE M. LOH, University of Oregon; AMY MAY, University of Montana; CURTIS J. MOORE, University of Kansas; FRANCIS D. TANKARD, University of Kansas.

The $1,000 Award for Best Reporting Technique went to STEFANIE M. LOH, University of Oregon, for her sports article in The Oregon Daily Emerald titled “Stunned: The Reaction.” The Article of the Year Award of $1,000 went to FRANCIS D. TANKARD, University of Kansas, for his In-Depth article in The University Daily Kansan titled “Built for Disaster.”

Three runners-up in the Photojournalism Championship, who will each receive a $1,500 scholarship, are (listed in alphabetical order): EDWARD LINSMIER, Western Kentucky University; MORGAN PETROSKI, University of Florida; BRANDON THIBODEAUX, University of North Texas.

The $1,000 award for Best Single Photograph went to BEN FREDMAN, University of Missouri; and the Best Picture Story/Series Award of $1,000 went to MORGAN PETROSKI, University of Florida.

Each semi-finalist in the Photojournalism Championship receives a $1,000 scholarship. They are listed in alphabetical order: DEANNA DENT, Arizona State University; BRIAN FRANK, San Francisco State University; CHRISTIAN HANSEN, Western Kentucky University; CARL KIILSGAARD, Western Kentucky University; TIM KUPSICK, University of Montana; MATT RYERSON, University of Iowa.

Two runners-up in the Radio Broadcast News Championship, who will each receive a $1,500 scholarship, are (listed in alphabetical order): MARTHA CASTANEDA, Arizona State University; WALTER R. STORHOLT, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Two runners-up in the Television Broadcast News Championship, who will each receive a $1,500 scholarship, are (listed in alphabetical order): McKENZIE L. COMBS, Western Kentucky University; RYAN FAMULINER, University of Missouri.

The $1,000 Award for Best Use of Radio For News Coverage went to DANIELLE WOOD, Brigham Young University. The Best Use of Television For News Coverage Award of $1,000 went to ELIAS JOHNSON, Arizona State University.

Each semi-finalist in the Radio Broadcast News Championship receives a $1,000 scholarship. They are listed in alphabetical order: BROOKE D. ARNAUD, University of Louisiana, Lafayette; DAVID KLATT, Pennsylvania State University; JEREMY L. POND, AbileneChristian University; BENJAMIN STEWART, Northwestern University; CHRISTOPHER VILLANI, Syracuse University.

Each semi-finalist in the Television Broadcast News Championship receives a $1,000 scholarship. They are listed in alphabetical order: MAIKA BAUERLE, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; ARIELLE BERLIN, Syracuse University; JOY HOWE, University of South Carolina; CHRISTOPHER T. JONES, Brigham Young University; JUSTIN S. SMITH, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

The Awards Ceremony was held at the deYoung Art Museum in San Francisco and was attended by family Hearst members Anissa Balson, Vice President of the Hearst Foundation, and Stephen T. Hearst, Vice President and General Manager, Hearst Realties, San Francisco.

All judges are from non-Hearst publications and broadcast stations. The writing judges were: 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.

The Photojournalism judges were: Janet Reeve, Director of Photography, Rocky Mountain News, Denver, CO; Pim Van Hemmen, Assistant Managing Editor/Photography, The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ; and Leslie A. White, Director of Photography, The Dallas Morning News, TX.

The Broadcast News judges were: Terry Connelly, Senior Vice President & General Manager, The Weather Channel, Atlanta, GA; Felicia Middlebrooks, Morning Anchor & Correspondent, WBBM News Radio 780, Chicago, IL; and Tom Negovan, Anchor/Reporter, WGN-TV, Chicago, IL.

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation was established by its namesake in 1948 under California non-profit laws, exclusively for educational and charitable purposes. Since then, the Hearst Foundations have contributed more than $660 million to numerous educational programs, including this one, and to health and medical care, human services and the arts in every state.
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Contact:
Jan C. Watten, Program Director
415-543-6033, ext. 308
jwatten@hearstfdn.org