HEARST  JOURNALISM  AWARDS  PROGRAM

HEARST  BROADCAST  NEWS  FINALISTS  NAMED

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation has announced the student radio and television broadcast finalists selected in the Journalism Awards Program broadcast competition.  The category for Competition One was Features.

The top five winners in both radio and television were selected from among 44 radio and 56 television entries submitted.  These winners, along with the top five finalists from both categories in Competition Two, will submit additional entries for a semi-final round of judging.  Following the semi-final round of judging, five in radio and five in television will be chosen to compete in the program's National Broadcast News Championships in San Francisco, along with winners of the writing and photojournalism competitions.

The top five radio finalists, qualifying for the semi-finals: 

        First Place, $2,000 award,  JOEL  GODETT,  Syracuse University

        Second Place, $1,500 award,  JOSEPH  (JW)  COX,  Arizona State University

        Third Place, $1,000 award,  ADAM  CAVALIER,  Marshall University

        Fourth Place, $750 award, COLTON  SHONE,  Arizona State University

        Fifth Place, $600 award,  ALEXANDRA  HILL,  University of Florida

        Other award winners in radio:

        Sixth Place, $500 award,  JASON  SPARKS,  Brigham Young University

        Seventh Place, $500 award,  DANIEL  CHERRY, University of Alabama

        Eighth Place, $500 award,  NATALIE  NEUMANN,  University of Montana

        Ninth Place, $500 award,  AMANDA  KENNEY,  Hofstra University

        Tenth Place, $500 award,  ALINA  SELYUKH,  University of Nebraska

The top five television finalists, qualifying for the semi-finals: 

        First Place, $2,000 award,  ELIZABETH  McKERNAN,  Arizona State University

        Second Place, $1,500 award,  CARLY  SWAIN,  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

        Third Place, $1,000 award,  JAMIE  HERSCH, University of Southern California

        Fourth Place, $750 award, HENRY  ROSOFF,  Northwestern University

        Fifth Place, $600 award,  SALVATORE  MANEEN,  Syracuse University

         Other award winners in television:

         Sixth Place, $500 award,  MEGHAN  LISSON,  Syracuse University

         Seventh Place, $500 award,  PHILLIP  MILANI, University of Colorado

         Eighth Place, $500 award,  MILES  DORAN,  University of Florida

         Ninth Place, $500 award,  STEPHEN  BUTERA, West Virginia University

         Tenth Place, $500 award,  BETHANY  TUGGLE,  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

The schools of these award winning finalists receive matching grants.

Arizona State  University placed first in the Intercollegiate Broadcast News Competition with the highest accumulated student points from the first radio and television competitions.  It is followed by: Syracuse University; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of Southern California (tie); Brigham Young University (tie); University of Florida; Northwestern University; Elon University; Pennsylvania State University; and West Virginia University.  The final winners (the top three of whom will collect $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500 respectively) will be named in April following Competition Two/News.

The judges, all professionals in radio and television, are:  Fred Young, Senior Vice President of News, Hearst-Argyle Television, New York, NY;  Barbara Cochran, President, RTNDA, Washington, DC;  and Ursula Reutin, News Director, News Talk 97.3 KIRO Radio, Seattle, WA.

The 2008-2009 broadcast news competitions are held in 110 member colleges and universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs.  The Broadcast News Competition was added in 1988 to the Hearst Foundation's Journalism Awards Program that for 49 years has included writing, photojournalism, and multimedia, and now offers awards totaling up to $550,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends.

Contact:         Jan C. Watten, Program Director

                     415.908.4560

                     jwatten@hearstfdn.org