WKU News

WKU student Jabin Botsford won the Hearst Journalism Awards Program’s 2014 National Photojournalism Championship this week in Washington, D.C.

Botsford, a May graduate from Knoxville, Tenn., finished first in the June 2-5 national competition and received a $5,000 award. Botsford also received a $1,000 award for best single photograph and a $1,000 award for best portfolio.

Danny Guy, a May graduate from Minneapolis, finished third in the photojournalism finals and received a $3,000 award.

Botsford is the 11^th WKU student to win the Hearst photojournalism championship. WKU students also won the individual titles in 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010.

Brittany Greeson, a senior from Owensboro, also competed in the national photojournalism finals and received a $1,500 scholarship.

Eric M. Shea, a senior from Louisville, and Adam Wolffbrandt, a senior from Lexington, were finalists in the national multimedia competition and received $1,500 scholarships.

Earlier this spring, WKU’s School of Journalism & Broadcasting tied for second place overall in the Hearst program’s 54^th annual competition. WKU has finished in the top five nationally for the past five years and in the top eight for 21 straight years including overall championships in 2005, 2001 and 2000.

In 2013-14, WKU won the Hearst Intercollegiate Multimedia Competition for the third consecutive year and the Hearst Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition for the 21^st time in the past 25 years.

Often called the “Pulitzers of College Journalism,” the William Randolph Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program is conducted under the auspices of accredited schools of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication. The program, in which 105 undergraduate journalism programs across the nation are eligible to participate, consists of five writing, two photojournalism, one radio, two television and four multimedia competitions offering up to $500,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends.

Contact: School of Journalism & Broadcasting, (270) 745-4144.