HEARST  JOURNALISM  AWARDS  PROGRAM

NEWS  RELEASE

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 Two was News.

The top five winners in both radio and television were selected from among 24 radio and 51 television entries submitted.  These winners, along with the top five finalists from both categories in Competition One, 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,  BROOKS STALEY,  University of Maryland

Second Place, $1,500 award,  ANDY  BOYLE,  University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Third Place, $1,000 award,  JOHN  SANTUCCI,  Hofstra University

Fourth Place, $750 award, RYAN  JAY  FISHMAN,  Syracuse University

Fifth Place, $600 award,  JILL GALUS,  Arizona State University

Other award winners in radio:

Sixth Place, $500 award,  ELENA  DIFIORE,  Arizona State University

Seventh Place, $500 award,  JASON  KAHN,  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Eighth Place, $500 award,  ALEX  SILVERMAN,  Syracuse University

Ninth Place, $500 award,  JOSEPH  A.  TARAVELLA, University of Louisiana, Lafayette

Tenth Place, $500 award,  ASHLEY  KORSLIEN,  University of Montana

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

First Place, $2,000 award,  MILES  DORAN,  University of Florida

Second Place, $1,500 award,  MATHEW  MENDEZ,  University of Southern California

Third Place, $1,000 award,  RANDY  GYLLENHAAL,  Elon University

Fourth Place, $750 award, LANDON  SEARS,  Syracuse University

Fifth Place, $600 award,  AMBER  DIXON,  Arizona State University

Other award winners in television:

Sixth Place, $500 award,  HILARY  WHITTIER,  Texas Christian University

Seventh Place, $500 award,  KATIE  KIM, University of Southern California

Eighth Place, $500 award,  VICTORIA  WELLS,  Syracuse University

Ninth Place, $500 award,  MCKENNA  EWEN,  University of Minnesota

Tenth Place, $500 award,  ANNA  M.  BROWN,  Louisiana State University

The schools of these award winning finalists receive matching grants.

Syracuse University placed first in the Intercollegiate Broadcast News Competition with the highest accumulated student points from the two broadcast competitions.  It is followed by: Arizona State University; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of Southern California; University of Florida; Pennsylvania State University; University of Montana (tie); Elon University (tie); University of Nebraska-Lincoln; and Hofstra University.  The top three winners earned awards of $10,000, $5,000, and $2,500 respectively.

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