The William Randolph Hearst Foundation has announced the 30 journalism students representing 14 universities from across the country who will compete in the 63rd annual National Writing, Photojournalism, Audio, Television and Multimedia Championships, June 2-8, 2023.

The finalists include eight writing finalists, six photojournalism finalists, five audio finalists, six television finalists and five multimedia finalists, selected from 1,304 entries received in this year’s 14 monthly competitions.

During the Championships, held in San Francisco, the finalists will fulfill assignments selected by the program judges, competing for scholarship awards of up to $10,000.

We congratulate the 2023 National Championship finalists.

Writing Finalists
Katherine Delk, University of Florida
Anna Guber, University of Florida
Austin Hanson, University of Iowa
Eli Hoff, University of Missouri
Andrew Lwowski, Arizona State University
Alasdair McNinch, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Nicolas Napier, Indiana University
Griffen Smith, University of Montana

Photo Finalists
Annie Barker, Michigan State University
Laura Bilson, Ohio University
J’sha Gift, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Kennedy Gott, Western Kentucky University
Wesley Lapointe, University of Oregon
Lauren Witte, University of Florida

Audio Finalists
Brianna Atkinson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Hallie Gutzwiller, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Briana Heaney, University of Missouri
Sophie Mallinson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
John Perik, Syracuse University

Television Finalists
Nicole Aponte, Syracuse University
Rachel Henderson, University of Missouri
Ophelie Jacobson, University of Florida
Cameron Joiner, University of Oklahoma
Julie Koharik, University of Missouri
Christopher Will, University of Florida

Multimedia Finalists
Alexis Ashby, University of Florida
Angelina Katsanis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Avery Lotz, University of Florida
Drake Presto, Arizona State University
Alexandra Schallert, Western Kentucky University

Presently, 105 colleges and universities with accredited undergraduate journalism schools are eligible to
participate in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program. Funded and administered for 63 years by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the Journalism Program awards up to $700,000 in scholarships, grants and stipends annually.



San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Investigative Reporting competition of the 2022-2023 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

There were 82 entries from 53 schools submitted in the final writing competition of the academic year.

First Place has been awarded to Nic Napier and Nadia Scharf, from Indiana University. Nick and Nadia receive a $3,000 scholarship for the article “Big buck, big buyouts: Big Ten schools spend millions clearing
coaching rosters” published in Idsnews.com. Nick also qualifies for the National Championship in June 2023.

The other top finalists are:
Second Place, $2,000 award, Alasdair McNinch, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Third Place, $1,500 award, Lucinda Warnke, University of Georgia
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Cambri Guest, University of Southern California
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Wyatt Cote, Faith Greenberg, Hudson Kamphausen, Jake Kelly,
Meredith Veilleux, University of Connecticut

The top five winning schools receive matching grants.

The sixth-through-tenth place finalists are:

Sixth Place, Molly Blanco, Kylee Hauter, Amber Mohmand, Iowa State University
Seventh Place, Natalie Kerr, Brooke Beyer, Haajrah Gilani, Temple University
Eighth Place, Katelyn Welsh and Nancy Vazquez, University of Nevada, Reno
Ninth Place, Domonique Tolliver, Loyola University New Orleans
Tenth Place, Albert Serna and Albert Gregory, San Francisco State University

Pennsylvania State University has won first place in the Intercollegiate Writing Competition with the highest
accumulated student points from the five writing competitions held this year.

They are followed by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Indiana University; University of Florida; University of Missouri; University of Montana; Arizona State University; University of Iowa; University of Maryland; Ball State University.

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $4,000 and $2,000 respectively.

The writing judges are: Maria Reeve, Executive Editor, The Houston Chronicle; Sue Campbell, Editorial Director, AME/Features, Star Tribune Magazine; David Callaway, Founder and Editor, Callaway Climate Insights.

The Journalism Awards Program, now in its 63rd year, also includes two photojournalism, one audio, two
television, and four multimedia competitions. The program offers up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends. 105 member universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Multimedia Digital News/Enterprise Competition of the 2022-2023 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

First Place has been awarded to Angelina Katsanis, a senior from the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill. Angelina receives a $3,000 scholarship for the winning piece “(re)becoming MOHAGANY” and qualifies for the National Multimedia Championship which will be held this June in San Francisco.

The other top finalists are:
Second Place, $2,000 award, Brenna Pepke, Western Kentucky University
Third Place, $1,500 award, Kate Brennan, Syracuse University
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Allie Schallert, Western Kentucky University
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Andrew Lewis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The top five winning schools receive matching grants.

The sixth-through-tenth place finalists are:
Sixth Place, certificate, Julia Lin, University of Southern California
Seventh Place, certificate, Corina Vera, Florida International University
Eighth Place, certificate, Eden McCall, University of Oregon
Ninth Place, certificate, Mimi Geller, University of Southern California
Tenth Place, certificate, Tom Isaacson, Colorado State University

Western Kentucky University is currently in first place in the Intercollegiate Multimedia Competition with the highest accumulated student points from three of four multimedia competitions.
They are followed by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Florida; Syracuse University;
University of Southern California; University of Missouri; Pennsylvania State University; San Francisco State
University; Brigham Young University; University of Kentucky.

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $4,000 and $2,000 respectively. The final intercollegiate
winners will be announced after the completion of all four multimedia competitions in May and will be presented during the National Championships in June.

The multimedia judges are: Jarrad Henderson, Senior Multimedia Producer – Investigative and Enterprise Video Team, USA Today; Meredith Hogan, Senior Creative Producer, Red Element Studios; Robert Scheer, Visual
Journalist, The Indianapolis Star.

The Journalism Awards Program, now in its 63rd year, added multimedia to the competitions in 2010. The program also includes five writing, one audio, two television, and two photojournalism competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends. 105 member universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to
participate in the Hearst competitions.

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Personality/Profile Writing Competition of the 2022-2023 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

There were 114 entries fro 67 schools submitted in the fourth writing competition of this academic year.

First Place has been awarded to Lauren Ulrich, a senior from the Indiana University. Lauren receives a $3,000 scholarship for the article “She dreams of Afghanistan: The life she built was lost to the Taliban. Now, she’s working to create a world where she can go home.” published in Idsnews.com. Lauren also qualifies for the National Writing Championship in June 2023.

The other top finalists are:
Second Place, $2,000 award, Anna Guber, University of Florida
Third Place, $1,500 award, Austin Hanson, University of Iowa
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Steban Rondon, Florida International University
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Ellie Sandlin, Western Kentucky University

The top five winning schools receive matching grants.

The sixth through tenth place finalists are:
Sixth Place, certificate, Caleb Bozard, University of South Carolina
Seventh Place, certificate, Kaitlyn Schmidt, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Eighth Place, certificate, Jillian Wesner, Pennsylvania State University
Ninth Place, certificate, Chloe Peterson, University of Iowa
Tenth Place, certificate, Tory Basile, Indiana University

Pennsylvania State University is in lead with first place in the Intercollegiate Writing Competition with the highest accumulated student points from the fourth of five writing competitions held this year.

They are followed by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Indiana University; University of Florida; University of Montana; Arizona State University; University of Missouri; University of Iowa; Ball State University; Syracuse University.

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $4,000 and $2,000 respectively. The final intercollegiate winners will be announced after the completion of all five writing competitions in May. The awards will be presented during the Intercollegiate Awards Presentation during the National Championships in June.

The writing judges are: Maria Reeve, Executive Editor, The Houston Chronicle; Sue Campbell, Editorial Director, AME/Features, Star Tribune Magazine; David Callaway, Founder and Editor, Callaway Climate Insights.

The Journalism Awards Program, now in its 63rd year, also includes two photojournalism, one audio, two television, and four multimedia competitions. The program offers up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends. 105 member universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

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San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Photojournalism Picture Story/Series Competition of the 2022-2023 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. The winning photojournalists were selected from 93 entries from 53 schools submitted in the second photo competition of the year.

First Place has been awarded to Kennedy Gott, a December 2022 graduate from Western Kentucky University. Kennedy wins a $3,000 scholarship and qualifies for the National Photojournalism Championship which will take place in San Francisco this June 2023.

The top qualifying finalists, along with the top finalists in photo I competition and three finalists with top combined scores from the two competitions, will submit additional photos for a semi-final round of judging.   Four
finalists will be chosen from that round to compete in the National Photojournalism Championship along with the first-place winners in photojournalism, and finalists in the writing, audio, TV and multimedia Championship categories.

The second through fifth place finalists are:
Second Place, $2,000 award, Laura Bilson, Ohio University *
Third Place, $1,500 award, Wesley Lapointe, University of Oregon *
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Grace Smith, University of Iowa *
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, J’sha Gift, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill *

The top five winning schools receive matching grants.

The sixth-through-tenth place finalists are:
Sixth Place, certificate, Jerod Ringwald, University of Iowa *
Seventh Place, certificate, Lauren Witte, University of Florida *
Eighth Place, certificate, Gabi Broekema, Western Kentucky University *
Ninth Place, certificate, Benjamin Fanjoy, San Francisco State University
Tenth Place, certificate, Isaac Wasserman, University of Oregon

* These finalists qualify for the semi-final round.

Western Kentucky University has won the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition with the highest accumulated student points in the two photo competitions.
They are followed by: University of Iowa; University of Oregon; Michigan State University; Ohio University; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Florida; Pennsylvania State University; Elon University; University of Montana.

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $4,000 and $2,000 respectively. These awards will be presented at the Intercollegiate Awards Presentation during the National Championship in June.

The photojournalism judges are: Marcia Allert, Managing Photo Producer, Apple; Nicole Frugé, Director of Visuals, The San Francisco Chronicle; Danny Gawlowski, Assistant Managing Editor, The Seattle Times.

The 63rd annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program added photojournalism to the competitions in 1970. The program also includes five writing, one audio, two television, and four multimedia competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends.  Currently, there are 105 universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Television News Competition of the 2022-2023 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

There were 77 entries from 47 schools submitted in the second television competition of the year.

First Place has been awarded to Julie Koharik, a senior from University of Missouri. Julie wins a $3,000 award and qualifies for the National Television Championship which will be held in June 2023.

The second-through-fifth place finalists are:
Second Place, $2,000 award, John Perik, Syracuse University *
Third Place, $1,500 award, Cameron Joiner, University of Oklahoma
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Isabella Leahy, Pennsylvania State University
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Rachel Henderson, University of Missouri

* Sixth Place finalist Aria Pons, Louisiana State University, moves into the semi-final round as John Perik has
already qualified to participate in the Audio Championship.

These finalists along with the top four from the first television competition qualify for a semi-final round where they will submit additional entries. From that competition, four additional finalists will be chosen to compete in the National Television Championship.

The top five winning schools receive matching grants.

The seventh-through-tenth place finalists are:
Seventh Place, certificate, Alexus Cleavenger, University of Florida
Eighth Place, certificate, Alex Almanza, Ball State University
Ninth Place, certificate, Conor McGill, Arizona State University
Tenth Place, certificate, Finn Carlin, University of Southern California

The University of Missouri School of Journalism has won the Intercollegiate Broadcast Competition with the
highest accumulated student points from the two television and one audio competitions.

They are followed by: Syracuse University; University of Florida; University of Oklahoma; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Arizona State University; Pennsylvania State University; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Hofstra University; University of South Carolina.

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $4,000 and $2,000 respectively. .

The television judges are: Candy Altman, retired Vice President of News, Hearst Television; Holly Quan, Reporter/Anchor, KCBS Radio; Joe Rovitto, President, Clemensen & Rovitto LLC.

The 63rd annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program added broadcast journalism to the competitions in 1988. The program also includes five writing, two photojournalism and four multimedia competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends. There are 105 universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Multimedia Innovative Storytelling and Audience Engagement Competition of the 2022-2023 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

There were 40 entries from 26 schools submitted in the second multimedia competition of the year.

First Place has been awarded to Kennedy Gott, a December 2022 graduate from Western Kentucky University. Kennedy receives a $3,000 scholarship for the winning piece “Nourishing the Soul” and qualifies for the National Multimedia Championship which will be held this June in San Francisco.

The other top finalists are:
Second Place, $2,000 award, Alexis Ashby, University of Florida
Third Place, $1,500 award, Avery Lotz, University of Florida
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Elizabeth Billman, Syracuse University
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Cynthia Liu, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The top five winning schools receive matching grants.

The sixth-through-tenth place finalists are:
Sixth Place, certificate, Myrah Sarwar, University of Southern California
Seventh Place, certificate, Sara Moyers, University of Missouri
Eighth Place, certificate, Allyson Rabon, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ninth Place, certificate, Chasia Webb, Brigham Young University
Tenth Place, certificate, Raven Rolle, University of Kentucky

Western Kentucky University is currently in first place in the Intercollegiate Multimedia Competition with the highest accumulated student points from the first two multimedia competitions. They are followed by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Florida; Pennsylvania State University (tie); Syracuse University (tie); University of Missouri; Arizona State University; Brigham Young University; San Francisco State University; University of Kentucky.

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $4,000 and $2,000 respectively. The final intercollegiate
winners will be announced after the completion of all four multimedia competitions in May.

The multimedia judges are: Jarrad Henderson, Senior Multimedia Producer – Investigative and Enterprise Video Team, USA Today; Meredith Hogan, Senior Creative Producer, Red Element Studios; Robert Scheer, Visual Journalist, The Indianapolis Star.

The Journalism Awards Program, now in its 63rd year, added multimedia to the competitions in 2010. The
program also includes five writing, one audio, two television, and two photojournalism competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends. 105 member universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to
participate in the Hearst competitions.

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Sports Writing Competition of the 2022-2023 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

There were 131 entries from 70 schools submitted in the third writing competition of the academic year.

First Place has been awarded to Andrew Lwowski, a December 2022 graduate from Arizona State University. Andrew receives a $3,000 scholarship for the article “‘Fields of dreams: How farming and football helped Eloy harvest NFL talent” published in Cronkite News. Andrew also qualifies for the National Championship in June 2023.

The other top finalists are:
Second Place, $2,000 award, Griffen Smith, University of Montana
Third Place, $1,500 award, Lauren Ketwitz, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Matthew Boncosky, University of Texas at Austin
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Joshua Casazza, University of Maryland

The top five winning schools receive matching grants.

The sixth-through-tenth place finalists are:
Sixth Place, certificate, Connor Smith, Ball State University
Seventh Place, certificate, Ian Hansen, Ball State University
Eighth Place, certificate, P.J. Morales, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ninth Place, certificate, Caitlyn Garrity, Pennsylvania State University
Tenth Place, certificate, Max Ralph, Pennsylvania State University

Pennsylvania State University is in first place in the Intercollegiate Writing Competition with the highest
accumulated student points from the three of the five writing competitions held this year. They are followed by: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Montana; University of Florida; University of Missouri; Arizona State University; Indiana University; Ball State University; New York University; University of Maryland.

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $4,000 and $2,000 respectively. The final
intercollegiate winners will be announced after the completion of all five writing competitions in May.

The writing judges are: Maria Reeve, Executive Editor, The Houston Chronicle; Sue Campbell, Editorial Director, AME/Features, Star Tribune Magazine; David Callaway, Founder and Editor, Callaway Climate Insights.

The Journalism Awards Program, now in its 63rd year, also includes two photojournalism, one audio, two
television, and four multimedia competitions. The program offers up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends. 105 member universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the 2022-2023 Hearst Journalism Awards Program’s Audio News/Features Competition. The top five audio winners qualify for the National Championships, along with
qualifying television, writing, photojournalism and multimedia finalists. There were 65 entries from 41 universities submitted in this competition.

The top audio winners who qualify for the 2023 National Audio Championship this June are:

First Place, $3,000 award, Hallie Gutzwiller, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Second Place, $2,000 award, Sophie Mallinson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Third Place, $1,500 award, Brianna Atkinson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, John Perik, Syracuse University
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Briana Heaney, University of Missouri
The schools of the top five award-winning finalists receive matching grants.

The sixth-through-tenth place finalists are:

Sixth Place, certificate, Yaw Bonsu, Hofstra University
Seventh Place, certificate, Madison Holcomb, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Eighth Place, certificate, Holly Fischer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Ninth Place, certificate, Athena Ankrah, Arizona State University
Tenth Place, certificate, Jaedyn Young, University of Nevada, Reno

Syracuse University is currently first place in the Intercollegiate Broadcast Competition with the highest
accumulated student points from the Audio and TV I Competitions. The final intercollegiate winners will be
announced after the TV II Competition in May. The top three winning schools earn $10,000, $4,000 and $2,000
respectively which will be presented during the National Championships in June.

Syracuse University is followed by: University of Florida, University of Missouri, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Arizona State University; University of Oklahoma; Hofstra University; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Pennsylvania State University.

The audio competition judges are: Candy Altman, retired Vice President of News, Hearst Television; Holly Quan, Reporter/Anchor, KCBS Radio; Joe Rovitto, President, Clemensen & Rovitto LLC.

The 63rd annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program added broadcast journalism to the monthly competitions in 1988. The Award Program also includes five writing, two photojournalism and four multimedia competitions
offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends. There are 105 universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism
programs eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

# # #

San Francisco – Winners have been announced in the Explanatory Reporting Competition of the 2022-2023 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

There were 129 entries from 68 schools submitted in the second writing competition of the academic year.

First Place has been awarded to Rachel Crumpler, a May 2022 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rachel receives a $3,000 scholarship for the article “‘Shots fired, shots fired! We need to go into
lockdown!” published in Media Hub. Per program guidelines, Rachel is not eligible for the Championship due to her graduation status.

Second place is awarded to Jade Campos from Pennsylvania State University who receives a $2,000 scholarship. Jade is also a May 2022 graduate and thus not eligible for the Championship. Click here to read Jade’s winning
article.

Third-place winner Katie Delk, a senior from University of Florida wins a $1,500 scholarship and qualifies for the National Championship in June 2023.

The other top finalists are:
Fourth Place, $1,000 award, Mary Claire Molloy, Indiana University
Fifth Place, $1,000 award, Rory Pelella, Pennsylvania State University

The top five winning schools receive matching grants.

The sixth-through-tenth place finalists are:
Sixth Place, certificate, Mason Young, University of Oklahoma
Seventh Place, certificate, Cami Parrish, Arizona State University
Eighth Place, certificate, Sudeep Tumma, Oklahoma State University
Ninth Place, certificate, Sydney Gold, Syracuse University
Tenth Place, certificate, Rachel Cohen, New York University

Pennsylvania State University is in first place in the Intercollegiate Writing Competition with the highest
accumulated student points from the two writing of the five writing competitions held this year.
They are followed by: University of Missouri; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Indiana University; University of Florida; New York University; University of Montana; Arizona State University; University of North Alabama; Washington & Lee University (tie); Temple University (tie).

The top three intercollegiate winners earn $10,000, $4,000 and $2,000 respectively. The final
intercollegiate winners will be announced after the completion of all five writing competitions in May. The awards will be presented during the Intercollegiate Awards Presentation during the National Championships in June.

The writing judges are: Maria Reeve, Executive Editor, The Houston Chronicle; Sue Campbell, Editorial Director, AME/Features, Star Tribune Magazine; David Callaway, Founder and Editor, Callaway Climate Insights.

The Journalism Awards Program, now in its 63rd year, also includes two photojournalism, one audio, two television, and four multimedia competitions. The program offers up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends. 105 member universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with
accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.