Cronkite Students Place in Awards Contests

Students from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication have been honored for their work in multimedia, newspapers, television and public relations in a series of recent national and regional competitions. “The quality of the work produced by our students never ceases to amaze me,” said Dean Christopher Callahan. “And it is particularly impressive because they excel across media platforms.” These awards come on the heels of a recent first-place finish in the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mark of Excellence awards for the fifth consecutive year and a second-place finish in the Hearst Journalism Awards. Cronkite School students have ranked first or second in that competition in five of the six past years. The most recent notable awards and recognitions include: Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Best of the Web Awards Two Cronkite student projects tied for first place in the Team Innovation category of the AEJMC online awards recognizing Web design. The first, “Streets of Dreams,” was produced by the graduate boot-camp class under the direction of Professors Leslie-Jean Thornton and B. William Silcock. The second, “Latinos & Hispanics in America,” was produced by Cronkite students in the Carnegie-Knight News21 Initiative headquartered at the Cronkite School under the supervision of Student Media Director Jason Manning. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication International Communication Division Two stories produced by students in the 2009 Euro Media study-abroad trip placed in the student international news story contest. Derek Quizon’s “Unholy Union” received second place, and Sarah Whitmire’s “Rocking the Foundation” placed third. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Magazine Division Student Contest Three Cronkite students placed in AEJMC’s student magazine competition this year. David Kempa won first in the Consumer Magazine Article: Investigation and Analysis category for his story “Crossing Lines” (the story also won a prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Award). Christine Rogel’s “Dueling Policies” won second for Specialized Business Press Article. And Claire Lawton took third as editor of State Press Magazine. The publication won third in the Online Magazine category. The contest is an activity of the magazine division of AEJMC, composed of magazine professors across the U.S. and beyond. Best of the West The State Press won in every category of the Best of the West college journalism contest, which recognizes journalistic excellence in the western states and utilizes contest proceeds to further the First Amendment. Associated Collegiate Press StatePress.com won a Pacemaker Award in the Associated Collegiate Press Online Pacemaker contest. The Pacemaker contest is the ACP’s highest award and is designed to honor the best college student publications. The State Press print edition was also nominated for a Pacemaker Award. Courage in Student Journalism Award Vaughn Hillyard received a 2010 Courage in Student Journalism Award from the Student Press Law Center. Hillyard was recognized for standing up to censorship by school administrators when he was editor of the Thunderbird High School paper, The Challenge. Hearst Broadcast Awards Gardenia Coleman took third place in the radio competition of the Hearst broadcast news competition. She was awarded $1,500 and qualifies for the Hearst radio championship. In the television portion of the Hearst broadcast finals, Natalie Podgorski came in eighth place, receiving a certificate of merit. The broadcast news competition is part of the Hearst Journalism Awards Program, which consists of six monthly writing competitions, three photojournalism competitions, three broadcast news competitions and two multimedia competitions, as well as championship contests in each division. The Hearst Awards are widely considered the Pulitzer Prizes of college journalism and are open to schools with accredited undergraduate journalism programs. Hearst Feature Writing Competition Weston Phippen was recognized with fourth place in the annual feature writing contest of the 51st annual Hearst Journalism Awards. The award brings with it a $1,000 scholarship from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, which administers the competition. Phippen was one of 140 students from 79 schools to compete in the contest. James Alan Cox Scholarship Isaac Easley and Laura Palmisano are each recipients of a James Alan Cox Scholarship, given by the James Alan Cox Foundation for Student Photographers. Both were selected in the Video Work category. They were two of five college students nationwide who were each awarded a $2,500 scholarship. Murray Scholar Eric Smith won a national essay competition to become the fifth Murray Scholar at the Cronkite School. He is one of five students nationwide from 28 eligible universities to receive a $5,000 scholarship from the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation. PR News Platinum Awards Students from the Cronkite School’s 2009 PR Campaigns class were finalists in the Pro Bono category of the PR News Platinum Awards. Their entry, the launch of the Phoenix Zoo’s Komodo Dragon Exhibit, competed alongside entries from professional firms. The students attended the award ceremony at the Grand Hyatt in New York and received an honorable mention in the contest. Radio Television Digital News Foundation Carole Simpson Scholarship Gardenia Coleman was the recipient of the RTNDF Carole Simpson Scholarship. The scholarship was created by its namesake, the first woman and the first African-American to moderate a presidential debate, with the goal of enabling minority students to overcome obstacles in their careers. Telly Awards Documentaries by two student groups were awarded Telly Awards. Jillian Sloan and Chris Parkinson won four Telly Awards for their documentary, “The Torn Identity.” Ruben Veloz and Elizabeth Rohe also won for their project, “The Inner Light.”