Cronkite Finishes Second Nationally in Hearst Awards

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication finished second nationally in the Hearst Journalism Awards for the 2009-2010 school year. Arizona State University has now finished first or second in five of the past six years in the Hearst competition, the best performance by any journalism school in the nation in the contest often referred to as the Pulitzer Prizes of college journalism. The Hearst results come just a few weeks after the Society of Professional Journalists announced that the Cronkite School won more national Mark of Excellence Awards than any other journalism school in the country for a fifth consecutive year. “These are very special students – tremendously talented, dedicated and hardworking,” said Cronkite Dean Christopher Callahan. “They prove year after year that we have among the very best of the next generation of great journalists.” The school’s second-place Hearst finish was tabulated following student competitions in a range of categories on a variety of platforms – multimedia, photojournalism, print, radio and television. Cronkite finished first in broadcast news and third in print this year. The Cronkite School also sent four student finalists to the 50th Annual National Hearst Championships in New York – more than any other school. During the two-day competition, top journalism students from across the country report and write stories for print and broadcast. John LaBarbera finished second in the National Radio Broadcast News category; Lindsey Reiser finished second in the National Television Broadcast News category; and Allison Gatlin and Toby Phillips were finalists in the National Writing and National Television Broadcast News categories, respectively. Students of 110 accredited journalism schools around the country are eligible to compete in the annual Hearst awards, which are judged by professional journalists. Also finishing in the top 10 this year were University of North Carolina, Pennsylvania State University, University of Missouri, Western Kentucky University, Northwestern University, University of Florida, Ohio University, Indiana University and University of Montana. Cronkite School students who placed in this year’s Hearst competitions are: Radio Multimedia John LaBarbera, Levittown, N.Y. First place, “Light Rail One Year Later: Pains, Trains and Automobiles” Editorial Writing Megan Ann Martin, Phoenix First place, “Whose Pants Are These?” TV News Reporting Lindsey Reiser, Scottsdale, Ariz. First place, “Repatriation Flight” and “Sheriff Joe Protest” Editorial Writing Allison Gatlin, Glendale, Ariz. Third place, “Playing His Twisted Game” TV Feature Reporting Toby Phillips, Albuquerque, N.M. Third place, “Unlikely Survivor” and “Heritage Hats” Personality/Profile Writing Allison Gatlin, Glendale, Ariz. Fourth place, “Chalking Up: A Male Gymnast Battles the Sport’s Gender Wall” Feature Writing Kendall Wright, Sarasota, Fla. Fifth place, “Seeing Stars and Stripes” Spot News Chelsea Smith, Hoover, Ala. Sixth place, “Uncle Arrested After Girl, 5, Found Dead in Apartment” In-Depth Writing Jonathan Cooper, Tempe, Ariz. Eighth place, “Border’s Virtual Fence: Over Budget and Underperforming” Radio Feature Reporting Liz Lastra, Phoenix Eighth place, “Guitar-Making School” and “Female Chain Gangs” Radio Multimedia Liz Lastra, Phoenix 10th place, “Dinner in a Dumpster” Radio Feature Reporting Kim Foley, Long Grove, Ill. 11th place, “Train Tracks” and “Packages from Home” Multimedia Reporting Channing Turner 14th place, “Undocumented Students and the Dream Act” Feature Writing Daniel Newhauser, San Antonio, Texas 16th place, “Culture and Border Enforcement Collide” Spot News Michelle Price, Chandler, Ariz. 16th place, “Probe Ordered in Captured-Jaguar Case” TV Feature Reporting Kristen Keogh, Surprise, Ariz. 20th place, “Senator Jordan” and “MASH Unit” The 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.