Bryce Newberry of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University has won a prestigious broadcast news award in the Hearst Journalism Awards program this week in San Francisco.
Newberry, a recent Cronkite graduate who will join KVUE News in Austin, Texas, was recognized for “Best Use of Television for News Coverage” for a story about San Francisco’s efforts to reduce the use of plastics.
Newberry was one of five Cronkite students who competed in the annual Hearst championship, which brings together top journalism students from around the country for several days of live competition during which they write, report and produce stories.
Students earn their way to the championship based on their performance in monthly competitions during the school year. Cronkite tied with two other schools for having the most students selected for this year’s championship round.
Newberry, who came in second overall in television broadcast news, won a total of $8,500. In all, Cronkite students won a combined total of $18,000 in scholarships during the competition. The other students and their awards are:
Matt Lively, a recent Cronkite graduate who will be a weekend sports anchor at 23ABC News in Bakersfield, California, received $5,000 for his third-place finish in television broadcast news.
Senior Jack Harris was a finalist in the writing competition, earning a $1,500 scholarship.
Senior Nicole Neri was a photojournalism finalist, also winning $1,500.
Austin Westfall, a recent Cronkite graduate who also is joining KERO TV in Bakersfield, Calif., as a multimedia journalist, was a finalist in the radio broadcast news category and earned a $1,500 scholarship.
“These awards recognize both the depth and breadth of work produced by Cronkite students,” Dean Christopher Callahan said. “In the Hearst Awards alone, students earned honors across categories and across platforms – broadcast, writing, multimedia and photography. They aren’t just good in one area; they’re excellent in all of them.”
The five Cronkite students participating in the Hearst championship were among 29 journalism students representing 12 universities who were selected for the competition.
The Cronkite School came in second nationally in the yearlong competition that led up to the championship finals, with students finishing in the top six in all four categories – broadcast, multimedia, writing and photojournalism. The school has placed in the top 10 in the Hearst Journalism Awards program for 17 consecutive years and has finished in the top five in nine of those years.
The Hearst results came at the end of a semester in which Cronkite students won their fourth Robert F. Kennedy Award and in which students won more national awards from the Society of Professional Journalists than any other journalism school in the country.
Here is the complete list of Cronkite students who placed in this year’s Hearst competitions:
Writing
Personality/Profile Writing
2nd: Jack Harris
“Apple of his eye: Children inspire visually impaired runner after lifetimes of heartache”
14th: Ethan Millman
“Interview with a Bluesman” for Phoenix Magazine
Enterprise Reporting
4th: Chris McCrory
“In a hole: Arizona officials lack funds to find, secure at least 100,000 abandoned mines”
21st: Stephanie Morse
“Will Arizona’s saguaros survive climate change and drought?”
Sports Writing
4th: Ryan Clarke
“Something in the water: A high school on the border and its many successful athletes”
Feature Writing
6th: Aydali Campa
“Border towns struggle with students who live in Mexico, learn in Arizona”
Breaking News
11th: Alexis England
“Flake Votes to approve Kavanaugh – for now – demands an FBI probe”
Multimedia Journalism
Enterprise Reporting
5th: Daria Kadovik
“Young Women Rising Interest in Taxidermy”
News
6th: Samie Gebers
“Vegas Stronger”
10th: Rebecca Spiess
“No More Deaths duels with Border Patrol”
Features
7th: Charlene Santiago
“Puerto Rico universities grapple with future after Hurricane Maria”
10th: Cami Clark, Celisse Jones, Chris McCrory and Nicole Neri
“Fentanyl Strips”
6th: Gabriella Bachara
“Customs and Border Patrol”
Television Features
3rd: Matt Lively
“Veterans Retreat” and “Blind Football Player”
9th: Lillian Donahue
“Honor Flight: Korean War Veterans” and “Hurricane Florence Relief”
Photojournalism
News & Features
11th: Nicole Neri
Picture Story/Series
13th: Nicole Neri
16th: Delia Johnson
The Hearst Journalism Awards Program operates under the auspices of the accredited schools of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication. It is fully funded and administered by The William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Publisher William Randolph Hearst established the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and The Hearst Foundation, Inc. in the 1940s, a few years before his death in 1951. Since then, the Foundations have awarded over $1 billion in grants and programs.