Two Missouri Journalism Students Place Second, Third in National Hearst Journalism Awards Championships
Grant Hindsley Wins in Photojournalism Competition; Sarah Hoffman, in Multimedia
San Francisco (June 13, 2013) — Two Missouri School of Journalism students were among the winning college journalists in the national championships of the Journalism Awards Program sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. The event was held June 3-7 in San Francisco.
Grant Hindsley won second place in the National Photojournalism Championship. He received a $4,000 award, with a matching grant going to the School. Hindsley graduated in May and is serving a summer internship at The Denver Post.
Hindsley’s project challenge was to photograph immigrants to this city of immigrants. He connected with a Chinese family, creating an intimate portrayal in a short amount of time. Photojournalism finalists were also asked to make a spot news picture, a difficult task in an unfamiliar city and with only public transportation available to the competitors. Hindsley solved this aspect of the assignment well by finding a fire department crew with whom he could ride along.
The photojournalism judges were Steve Gonzales, director of photography, The Houston Chronicle; Sue Morrow, assistant director of multimedia, the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee; and Jakub Mosur, freelance photographer, San Francisco.
Sarah Hoffman won third place in the National Multimedia Championship. She received a $3,000 award, with a matching grant going to the School. Hoffman graduated in May and is serving a summer internship at The Dallas Morning News.
Finalists in the multimedia category answered the question: What is the real San Francisco? The description for Hoffman’s piece, Ama Ka Tura: People of the Land, was as follows: “Some people believe they are dead or gone. Anthony Sul, a 22-year-old artist, is part of the Ohlone nation and identifies as Ama Ka Tura one of the ‘people of the land.’ The tribe is indigenous to parts of California including San Francisco. Over the years, the landscape of San Francisco has changed and Sul works to advocate for indigenous people, educate and carry on cultural traditions. He proves that the Ohlone exist and carries on a living breathing culture.”
The multimedia judges were Cory Haik, executive producer for digital news, The Washington Post; Sue Morrow, assistant director of multimedia, the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee; and Kate O’Brian, senior vice president, ABC News.
“Though there was intense competition, there was also strong camaraderie among the students from the leading journalism schools across the country,” said Associate Professor David Rees, who attended the championships.
Hindsley and Hoffman were part of a group of 29 finalists – all winners from the 14 monthly competitions – who demonstrated their writing, photography, radio, television and multimedia skills in rigorous on-the-spot assignments during the national championships. Winners were announced during the final awards ceremony on June 6 at the Alexandra Ballroom of the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. William Randolph Hearst III, president of the Board and chair of the Journalism Awards Program, delivered the keynote speech of the evening.
In addition to Hindsley and Hoffman’s national championship awards, the Missouri School of Journalism placed third overall and won 14 other Hearst awards throughout the academic year. This includes first place and a $10,000 prize in the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition for having the highest accumulated student points from the two photo competitions.
Often called the “Pulitzers of College Journalism,” the Hearst Journalism Awards Program consists of five monthly writing competitions, two photojournalism competitions, three broadcast news competitions and four multimedia competitions, with Championship finals in all divisions. The program awards up to $500,000 in scholarships and grants annually. There are 106 member colleges and universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs. The program is fully funded and administered by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.
Updated: July 17, 2020