Twenty college photographers have been named finalists in the second photojournalism competition of the 2005-2006 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. This was the second of three annual photojournalism competitions, entered by 54 students nationwide, in the category of “sports and news.”
The top four winners, along with the top four finalists in the other two competitions, will submit additional photos for the semi-final judging this June. Of those, six photojournalists will be chosen to compete in the program’s national photojournalism championships in San Francisco, along with winners in the writing and broadcast news competitions.
The annual photojournalism competitions are held in member colleges and universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs.
The top four contestants qualifying for the semi-finals are:
First Place, $2,000 award, BENJAMIN SKLAR, University of Texas, Austin
Second Place, $1,500 award, WILLIAM DESHAZER, Western Kentucky University
Third Place, $1,000 award, RAYMOND M. JONES, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Fourth Place, $750 award, MATTHEW NAGER, University of Colorado
Other award winners are:
Fifth Place, $600 award, POUYA DIANAT, University of Maryland
Sixth Place, $500 award, MATTHEW MARRIOTT, University of Florida
Seventh Place, $500 award, JUSTIN COOK, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Eighth Place, $500 award, OMAR VEGA, San Francisco State University
Ninth Place, $500 award, CHRIS BERGIN, Ball State University
Tenth Place, $500 award, ALYSSA SCHUKAR, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Other students who placed among the top 20 in the photojournalism competition and will receive award certificates are:
JASON FRITZ, San Francisco State University, eleventh place
MAX BITTLE, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, twelfth place
PAT JARRETT, Kent State University, thirteenth place-tie
DAVID M. WEATHERWAX, Michigan State University, thirteenth place-tie
KRIS KOLDEN, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, fifteenth place
CHRISTOPHER WEDDLE, Ball State University, sixteenth place
NATHAN MORGAN, Western Kentucky University, seventeenth place-tie
CHRISTOPHER HANEWINCKEL, Kansas State University, seventeenth place-tie
MEREDITH MERCIER, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, nineteenth place-tie
KEITH SMILEY, University of Kentucky, nineteenth place-tie
The Hearst Journalism Awards Program, which is now in its 46th year, added photojournalism to the competitions in 1970. Scholarship awards, ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, are presented to the finalists following the National Championships. In addition to the photojournalism competitions, the program also includes six writing and four broadcast news competitions. Annually, more than $400,000 in student scholarships and matching grants to the students’ schools are distributed.
The photojournalism judges are: Kirk D. McKoy, Senior Photo Editor, Los Angeles Times, California; Pim Van Hemmen, Assistant Managing Editor/Photography, The Star-Ledger, Newark, New Jersey; and Leslie A. White, Assistant Director of Photography, Web/News, The Dallas Morning News, Texas.
Western Kentucky University placed first in the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition with the highest accumulated school points from two out of the three photo competitions. They are followed by: University of Colorado; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of Florida; University of Texas, Austin; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; San Francisco State University; University of Missouri; Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; and Ball State University. The final winners will be named in April following the last photo competition.
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Contact:
Jan C. Watten
415-543-6033, ext. 308
jwatten@hearstfdn.org
