WKU Photojournalist Wins
Hearst National Championship

June 9, 2004

Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University's award-winning photojournalism program has added another national championship to its list of accomplishments.

Jae S. Lee, a May graduate from Hendersonville, Tenn., won the Hearst Journalism Awards Program's national photojournalism title last weekend in San Francisco.

Western's School of Journalism and Broadcasting had three of the six photojournalism finalists in the Hearst competition, often called the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism.

Lee, an intern this summer at the Indianapolis Star, received a $5,000 award. Rodrick Reidsma, a Bowling Green senior, and James Branaman, a May graduate from Berea, also were finalists and received $1,500 each.

"My students never cease to amaze me with their talent and their hard work," said James Kenney, coordinator of the photojournalism program. "To have three of the six national finalists come from Western Kentucky University really says something about the quality of our students and their dedication to the craft."

Kristin Behrle, a Louisville senior and a national semifinalist in the Hearst competition, won first place for best picture of story of the year.

Western's School of Journalism and Broadcasting has finished in the nation's top four overall for six consecutive years in the Hearst Journalism Awards Program, which includes photojournalism, writing and broadcasting contests.

In the past three years, six Western photojournalism graduates have shared in Pulitzer Prizes won by the Dallas Morning News, Rocky Mountain News and the New York Times.

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.

-WKU-