WKU Student Places Third In Hearst Photojournalism Finals

June 14, 2007

Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University senior Jonathan D. Woods of Maple Grove, Minn., finished third in the Hearst Journalism Awards Programs’ National Photojournalism Championships.

Woods, one of two WKU photojournalists who competed last week in San Francisco, received a $3,000 award.
Edward Linsmier, a December graduate from Saxe, Va., was a runner-up in the national finals and received a $1,500 award.

McKenzie York, a senior from Louisville, was a runner-up in television news finals in the National Broadcast News Championships and received a $1,500 award.

Two other WKU photojournalism students -- Carl Kiilsgaard, a sophomore from Corvallis, Ore.,  and Christian Hansen, a Louisville junior – received $1,000 awards as national semifinalists.

Often called the “Pulitzers of College Journalism,” the Hearst program holds yearlong competitions in writing, photojournalism and broadcast news. WKU’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting placed fourth overall this year, the school’s ninth consecutive top four finish in the national competition. WKU has won the Hearst Intercollegiate Photojournalism Championship 16 times in the past 18 years.

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.
For more on the Hearst program, visit www.hearstawards.org.  

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.