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’s Broadcast Features Competition I. 

The top five winners in both radio and television were selected from among 35 radio and 70 television entries submitted.  These winners, along with the top five finalists from both categories in Competition II, will submit additional entries for a semi-final round of judging.  Following the semi-finals, five radio and five television finalists will be chosen to compete in the program's National Broadcast News Championships in New York City, along with winners of the writing and photojournalism competitions.

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

        First Place, $2,000 award,  ALEX  SILVERMAN, Syracuse University

        Second Place, $1,500 award,  JOHN  T.  SANTUCCI, Hofstra University

        Third Place, $1,000 award,  WILL GORHAM, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

        Fourth Place, $750 award,  LOGAN  KOLBY  DANIELS,  Brigham Young University

        Fifth Place, $600 award,  SAMANTHA  BARANOWSKI,  Elon University

        Other award winners in radio are:

        Sixth Place, $500 award,  BRANDI  KRUSE,  University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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

        Eighth Place, $500 award,  ELIZABETH  S.  LASTRA, Arizona State University

        Ninth Place, $500 award,  JEFF HOWANEK,  Pennsylvania State University

        Tenth Place, $500 award,  KELLI  SAJEVIC,  University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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

        First Place, $2,000 award,  GARRETT  TENNEY,  Brigham Young University

        Second Place, $1,500 award,  GABY  LORIA,  University of Miami

        Third Place, $1,000 award,  TOBY  PHILLIPS, Arizona State University

        Fourth Place, $750 award, MITCHELL  COOPER,  Kent State University

        Fifth Place, $600 award,  KELLY  ANNE  BRENNAN,  Ohio University

         Other award winners in television are:

         Sixth Place, $500 award,  RACHID  HAOUES,  Pennsylvania State University

         Seventh Place, $500 award,  DANIEL  SULLIVAN, Pennsylvania State University

         Eighth Place, $500 award,  KASEY  HOTT,  West Virginia University

         Ninth Place, $500 award,  LOREN  GRUSH, University of Texas, Austin

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

The schools of these award winning finalists receive matching grants.

Pennsylvania 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: Brigham Young University; Arizona State University; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Hofstra University; Syracuse University; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; University of Miami; University of Texas, Austin; and University of Florida.  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 II/News.

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

The 2009-2010 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 50 years has included writing, photojournalism, and multimedia, and now offers awards totaling up to $550,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends.  To view or listen to the winning work, please check the monthly winners section of the Web site which is updated shortly after each competition.

Contact:         Jan C. Watten, program director

                     415.908.4560

                     jwatten@hearstfdn.org