Cronkite Finishes First in Hearst for Second Time in Three Years

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication finished first in the nation in the Hearst Journalism Awards, a prestigious competition often called the Pulitzer Prizes of college journalism. Arizona State University now has won the Hearst competition twice in the past three years and finished first or second in four of the past five years. The Hearst news comes just a week after the Society of Professional Journalists announced that Cronkite won more Mark of Excellence Awards in the national Society of Professional Journalists competition than any other journalism school in the country for the fourth consecutive year. “This is the result of incredibly passionate, smart and dedicated students working closely with inspiring faculty members,” said Cronkite Dean Christopher Callahan. “We are tremendously proud of our students winning this prestigious national competition for the second time in three years.” The Cronkite School finished first by competing in a broad range of categories on a variety of platforms – multimedia, photojournalism, print, radio and television. Cronkite finished second in broadcast news, fourth in print and 10th in photojournalism. The other top journalism schools rounding out the top 10 were the University of Kansas, Syracuse University, the University of Florida, the University of North Carolina, the University of Missouri, Western Kentucky University, Northwestern University, San Francisco State University and the University of Montana. More than 100 accredited journalism schools around the country compete in the annual Hearst Journalism Awards. The student work is judged by professional journalists. The 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. Career Services Director Mike Wong and Assistant Dean Kristin Gilger coordinate the Hearst Journalism Awards for the Cronkite School. Cronkite School students who placed in this year’s competition are: Feature Writing Ryan Kost, Chandler, Ariz., third James Kindle, Riverton, Wyo., 13th Personality/Profile Writing James Kindle, Riverton, Wyo., 5th Lillie Brower, Mesa, Ariz., 11th In-Depth Writing Clarice Wziatek, Peoria, Ariz., 11th William Hennigan, Chicago, 14th Spot News Writing Jonathan J. Cooper, Tempe, Ariz., 11th Sports Writing Alex Espinoza, Moraga, Calif., 17th Radio Feature Reporting Joe “JW” Cox, Hemet, Calif., second Colton Shone, Phoenix, fourth Radio News Reporting Jill Galus, Portage, Mich., fifth Elena Difiore, Tempe, Ariz., sixth Television Feature Reporting Liz McKernan, Phoenix, first Television News Reporting Amber Dixon, Phoenix, fifth Photojournalism News & Sports Bettina Hansen, Spring Valley, Ariz., 7th Jeffrey Lowman, Maricopa, Ariz., 9th Photojournalism Picture Story/Series Deanna Dent, Tempe, Ariz., 21st Multimedia Jillian Sloan, Scottsdale, Ariz., 12th Meanwhile, four of the award-winning students will head to San Francisco next week to compete in Hearst’s national broadcast news championship. Jill Galus and Colton Shone will compete with three other students in the radio national championship June 2-6 while Amber Dixon and Elizabeth McKernan will be among the five students in the TV competition.