WKU Student Wins Hearst Photojournalism Competition

December 08, 2008

Bowling Green, Ky. - A Western Kentucky University student has won the first of three photojournalism competitions in the 2008-09 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

Jake Stevens, a senior from Scranton, Pa., took first place in the categories of portrait/personality, feature and “personal vision.” He received a $2,000 award and has qualified for a semifinal round of judging next June.

Dijana Muminovic, a Rockfield senior, placed seventh in the competition and received $500. WKU’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting received matching awards.

Often called the “Pulitzers of College Journalism,” the Hearst Journalism Awards Program, now in its 49th year, holds yearlong competitions in writing, photojournalism, broadcast news and multimedia with championship finals in all divisions except multimedia. The program awards more than $500,000 in scholarships and grants annually.

WKU is in first place after the first competition in the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition followed by University of Florida; Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; University of Missouri; University of Kentucky; University of Texas, Austin; Central Michigan University; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; New York University; Ball State University and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill are tied in 10th place. The final winners are announced after the third photo competition.

WKU has won the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition 16 times in the past 19 years. In the overall competition, WKU has finished among the top eight in the nation for 15 consecutive years including No. 1 finishes in 2005, 2001 and 2000.

More information about the Hearst competitions is available online at http://www.hearstfdn.org/hearst_journalism/index.php.
               
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For information, contact James Kenney at (270) 745-6307.