3 WKU Students Among National
Finalists In Hearst Contest
June 04, 2003
Bowling Green, Ky. - Three Western Kentucky University students are competing for national championships this week in the 43rd annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program in San Francisco.
Shannon Guthrie, a Bowling Green senior, and Amanda Odeski, a Dallas senior, are among the six photojournalism finalists. Ryan Clark, a December graduate from Louisville, is one of eight writing finalists. Winners will be announced Sunday.
Students are competing for championship awards of $5,000 for first place, $4,000 for second and $3,000 for third place. Unranked finalists receive $1,500 each.
The Hearst competition, which includes photo, writing and broadcasting, is often called the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism. Western's School of Journalism and Broadcasting placed third overall this year, its fifth straight top three finish.
Five Western students were national semifinalists in the Hearst photojournalism competition. A photograph by Brian Wagner, a senior from Knoxville, Tenn., was selected as best single picture. Wagner will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
In this year's competition, Western earned $54,800 in scholarship awards for students ($30,500) and matching grants for the School of Journalism and Broadcasting ($24,300). Since 1981, Western has earned $457,600 in the Hearst program.
For more information, contact the School of Journalism and Broadcasting at (270) 745-4143. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
