Cronkite Students Place in Hearst Top 10

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication has placed in the top 10 in the national Hearst Journalism Awards program for 2007-2008 – the seventh consecutive year that the school has finished in the top 10.

This year’s ninth-place ranking for Arizona State University follows a first-place finish last year in the competition, often called the Pulitzers of college journalism. More than 100 accredited journalism schools from around the country compete each year, entering their students’ best work in monthly competitions for radio and television news, multimedia, photography and writing. Schools are ranked at the end of the year based on points awarded in the monthly contests.

This year, Cronkite students placed in every category, taking sixth overall in broadcast news, seventh in multimedia, 13th in photography and 17th in writing.

In addition, Cronkite student Bonnie Bolt was selected to participate in the Hearst national championships earlier this month. It is the fifth time in the past six years that a broadcast student from the school has been selected for the championships, which bring top journalism students from around the country to San Francisco to test their skills in an intensive, week-long face-off. Bolt, who graduated in May, was the winner of a $1,500 scholarship.

The annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program was established by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation in 1960 to provide support, encouragement and assistance to journalism education at the college and university level. The program distributes more than $550,000 in scholarships and grants annually.

The following is a complete listing of Cronkite Hearst winners for the year:

Television News Reporting
Bonnie Bolt, Mesa, Ariz., fourth
Michelle Ashworth, McLean, Va., fifth

Radio News Reporting
Dana Granillo, Phoenix, 11th
Sam Eshelman, Carlsbad, Calif., 14th

Radio Feature Reporting
Sam Gavin, Newark, Ohio, 14th

In-Depth Reporting
James Kindle, Riverton, Wyo., second

Feature Writing
Celeste Sepessy, Goodyear, Ariz., eighth

Multimedia
Annalyn Censky, Tucson, Ariz., seventh

Photojournalism, Picture Story Series
Deanna Dent, Tempe, Ariz., 11th

Photojournalism, News & Sports
Deanna Dent, Tempe, Ariz., 17th