School of Journalism

KU ranks first in national Hearst journalism contest

The University of Kansas currently ranks first in the 46th annual William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program, with the highest accumulated school points from the first four, out of six, writing competitions. More than 100 undergraduate accredited journalism programs in colleges and universities across the nation participate in the prestigious awards program.

University Daily Kansan staff members have placed first and ninth in in-depth reporting; sixth and ninth in sports writing; 11th in feature writing; and 20th in editorial writing.

The winning schools will be named in April upon the conclusion competition, which includes contests in writing, photojournalism and broadcast. The top school receives a $10,000 grant, the second-place school $5,000 and the third-place school $3,000.
The latest KU winners are Ryan Colaianni, sixth place, and Matt Wilson, ninth place, both in sports writing. Colaianni and Wilson received $500 scholarships.

Last month, Steve Vockrodt placed first in the in-depth writing competition, and Louis Mora placed ninth. Vockrodt received a $2,000 scholarship and Mora a $500 scholarship.

Ted Frederickson, professor of journalism and instructor for newspaper reporting and depth reporting classes, said the final project requirement “gives students a chance to apply and demonstrate the skills they developed in all of their journalism classes to one major story.

“Most of those students end up producing the best stories they have yet written, and some not only win national recognition in the Hearst competition but actually launch successful journalism careers based on their stories.”

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