Bowling Green, Ky. - Five Western Kentucky University students have been honored in the 47th annual William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program.

Christian Hansen, a Louisville junior, finished third in the portrait/personality and feature photojournalism competition, received a $1,000 award and qualified for the semifinal round of judging. Kari Collins, a senior from Dayton, Ohio, finished 14th in the photo competition.

McKenzie L. York, a Louisville senior, finished sixth in television features competition and received a $500 award.

Allison Vincent, a Bowling Green senior, finished 19th in radio features.

Ashlee Clark, a Louisville senior, placed 10th in editorial/opinion writing and received a $500 award.
WKU’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting received matching awards.

Often called the “Pulitzers of College Journalism,” the Hearst program holds yearlong competitions in writing, photojournalism and broadcast news. WKU has finished in the top four nationally for eight consecutive years, winning the overall title in 2005, 2001 and 2000.

WKU has won the Hearst Intercollegiate Photojournalism Championship 15 times in the past 17 years. WKU photojournalism students have won the individual title for three consecutive years and a WKU broadcasting student won the radio news title last year.

In this year’s competitions, WKU is in fourth place in photojournalism and eighth in broadcast news. Final winners will be announced in April.

The Hearst 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 schools participate in the program, which awards more than $400,000 in scholarships and grants annually.

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

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

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Office of Media Relations
Western Kentucky University
1906 College Heights Blvd., Bowling Green, Ky. 42101-3576
Phone: (270)745-4295 - Fax: (270)7455387 - E-Mail: western@wku.edu