Arnett a Top Winner in National Hearst Writing Competition
Columbia, Mo. (March 24, 2006) — Dugan Arnett, a Missouri School of Journalism senior, placed eighth in the personality/profile writing competition for this year’s Hearst Journalism Awards. There were 90 students from 54 universities and colleges competing in the contest.
Arnett, a newspaper journalism major from Lone Jack, Mo., won a $500 scholarship for “Worth the Effort,” an in-depth look at the trials and tribulations of Douglass High School basketball coach Lynn Allen, who has coached at the Columbia, Mo., alternative school for the past seven years.
“Dugan Arnett has the ability to go straight to the heart of a story,” said Jacqui Banaszynski, Arnett’s professor for his intermediate writing course. “He sees the universal character in his subjects and makes their stories resonate for all. His piece on the comeback coach is a testament to human interest reporting at its best, and to a special young reporter.”
Arnett has received other journalism recognitions. This summer, he will participate in the Fellowship for Young Journalists at the Poynter Institute. Earlier Arnett finished 17th in the sportswriting category of the Hearst Writing Awards Program.
The Missouri School of Journalism is currently in fifth place in the overall Intercollegiate Writing Competition, with five of six contests complete. Previously, Chris Detrick, BJ ’05, won first place in the photojournalism competition for work he produced while a student. Dusty Luthy placed seventh and Elspeth Reeve tied for 20th place in the in-depth writing competition; Travis Thompson tied for 17th place and Marie Saavedra tied for 19th place in the feature competition for broadcast news.
The Hearst Journalism Awards Program is conducted under the auspices of accredited schools of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication, and fully funded and administered by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. It consists of six monthly writing, three photojournalism and two radio and two television broadcast news competitions, with championship finals in all divisions held at the culmination of the program year. More than $400,000 in scholarships and grants are awarded annually.
Updated: April 9, 2020