Bowling Green, Ky. - Three Western Kentucky University photojournalism students are national finalists in the 45th annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

Melanie Blanding, a junior from Roanoke, Va., and Bowling Green seniors Erik Jacobs and Jim Winn are among the six finalists competing this week in San Francisco. The others are from Florida, Kent State and North Carolina.

Finalists will begin their photo assignments Wednesday with winners announced Saturday.

At the awards ceremony, the WKU School of Journalism and Broadcasting will be recognized as the winner of the Hearst program's Overall Intercollegiate Competition for the third time since 2000 and the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition for the 15th time in 17 years. The Hearst competition, often called "The Pulitzers of College Journalism," includes print journalism, photojournalism and broadcast news.

"We are extremely pleased that for the past two years three of the national Hearst photo finalists are Western students," said Dr. Pam Johnson, director of the School of Journalism and Broadcasting. "Of course we are very proud of our students, faculty and the administrative support we receive for the photojournalism sequence. The photojournalism faculty create a culture in which they set high standards for our students and then help them to reach those standards."

Western students finished first in all three individual photojournalism contests this year and six qualified for the Hearst's semifinal round of judging. Last year, Western's Jae S. Lee of Hendersonville, Tenn., won the Hearst photo competition.

"I'm excited and very happy for the students. They've earned it," said James Kenney, coordinator of the photojournalism sequence. "I wish, of course, that all six of our semifinalists could have gone to San Francisco. They all worked hard to get to that point and did an incredible job this year."

The following Western students received awards in other individual Hearst competitions this year: Ashlee Clark, a Louisville junior, ninth in spot news writing; Brenna Gallegos, a Lexington junior, tie for 17th in radio news; Mark A. Brown, a Scottsville senior, 19th in radio news and tie for 12th in radio features; Laura Lynn Rogers, a Canmer senior, ninth in television news; and Tavia Green, a Hopkinsville sophomore, tie for 16th in personality/profile writing.

The Hearst Journalism Awards Program, funded and administered by The William Randolph Hearst Foundation, operates under the auspices of the accredited schools of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication. More than 100 accredited undergraduate schools of journalism in the United States are eligible to participate in the program, which awards more than $400,000 in scholarships and grants annually.

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For information, contact the School of Journalism and Broadcasting at (270) 745-4143.