communigator

College’s students finish strong in Hearst finals

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications continued its strong showing in the annual William Randolph Hearst Journalism Awards, finishing sixth overall nationally, third in broadcast news and fourth in photojournalism.

In the national individual categories, Matt Walsh, JM 2011 took second place in the photo shoot-out, winning a $4,000 prize; Trent Kelly, a telecommunication senior this year finished second in the radio broadcast news division, winning $4,000; and Clark Fouraker, TEL 2011, was a finalist in the television broadcast news division, earning a $1,500 prize.

“We are very proud of our efforts,” said Dean John Wright. “This is the premier national competition for journalism and telecommunication students and it is a statement to the College’s strong program that we were ranked in the top ten and had finalists in both journalism and broadcast divisions.”

The Journalism Awards Program is funded and administered by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. The winning entries from Walsh and Kelly can be viewed at: hearstfdn.org/hearst_journalism/championship.php?year=2011.

Walsh won first place in Hearst’s Photo I – Portrait/Personality, Feature and Personal Vision category to earn his way into the finals in the overall photojournalism division.

He and the five other finalists were assigned to do a photo story about a character from one of San Francisco’s many cultures and/or subcultures. His story was on San Francisco Police Sgt. Chuck Limbert, a gay police officer who has served his community of Castro for 21 years. Limbert lives in Castro with his life partner, San Francisco Police Officer John Stevens. Three of the photos from Walsh’s shoot-out are featured here.

Kelly competed in the radio broadcast news division after being selected as a finalist for his production of “Airboat Curfew,” a story about Alachua County’s controversial noise ordinance.

The radio broadcast finalists were asked to find a story that reflected the greening of San Francisco and represented the city’s dedication to livability and sustainability. Kelly’s second place broadcast highlighted urban agriculture in the San Francisco area.

Fouraker was one of five finalists in the television broadcast news finals. They were given the same assignment as the radio broadcast finalists.