Cronkite Students Finish First Again in Broadcast Competition

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication is first in the nation for broadcast news in the prestigious Hearst Journalism Awards program. It is the third time in four years that the Cronkite School at Arizona State University has topped the national competition, often referred to as the Pulitzers of college journalism. The William Randolph Hearst Foundation holds year-long contests for writing, photography and broadcast reporting. Journalism schools with the most points throughout the year are awarded prize money and their students win scholarships. More than 100 journalism schools around the country compete in the annual competition, and student work is judged by professional journalists. “This is the latest example of the superior work produced by our broadcast news students,” said Christopher Callahan, dean of the Cronkite School. “We are extremely proud of them and their faculty mentors.” This year, seven Cronkite students were awarded points for finishing in the top 20 in the two television and two radio categories. Four of them had top 10 finishes. Elias Johnson of Manson, Ia., finished first in the Television Feature Reporting category, while Amanda Goodman of Yuma, Ariz., finished second in Television News Reporting and Martha Castaneda of Glendale, Ariz., finished third in Radio News Reporting. Those students will move on to the national semifinals, submitting additional stories for judging and competing for one of five spots in TV Reporting and in Radio Reporting at the program’s national championships in San Francisco in April. Other Cronkite students who placed were: Hailey Frances of Scottsdale, Ariz., 11th in TV Feature Reporting and 17th in TV News Reporting; Molly O’Brien of Seattle, sixth in Radio News Reporting; Justin Karp of Santa Clara, Calif., 15th in Radio Feature Reporting; and Laura Kennedy, Phoenix, 16th in Radio Feature Reporting. Following ASU, the other top universities in broadcast news for 2006-07 are Brigham Young University, the University of North Carolina, Syracuse University and the University of Florida.