KU Journalism students place first, fifth in Hearst Awards Sports Writing Competition; KU Journalism School retains first place

Rustin Dodd

KU Journalism senior Rustin Dodd won first place in the Sports Writing category of the prestigious national William Randolph Hearst Writing Foundation Awards competition. KU Journalism senior Mark Dent placed fifth.

The KU School of Journalism remains first among all schools of journalism in the 2009 Intercollegiate Writing Competition.

Often called "The Pulitzers of College Journalism," the Hearst program holds an annual, year-long competition in writing. This is its 49th year. The journalism school that accumulates the most points earned by its students in each category of the six writing competitions, titled the Intercollegiate Writing Competition, is designated the winner. KU won the Intercollegiate Writing Competition in 2007 and 2008. The final winners will be named in April following the last writing competition.

“This is a tremendous honor for our students and School,” Journalism Dean Ann M. Brill said. “The Hearst competition is the most challenging writing contest in the country. Our students’ successes are a testament to the outstanding quality of our students and faculty.”
  
There were 87 students from 52 universities and colleges who participated in the program's fourth writing competition. Dodd, from Overland Park, Kan., will receive a check for $2,000, and Dent, from Overland Park, Kan., will receive a check for $600. The KU School of Journalism will receive matching grants.

Dodd also will participate in the Hearst National Writing Championship in San Francisco in June.

Dodd's story, “For the Love of the Game,” appeared in the April 28, 2008, issue of The University Daily Kansan, and was about KU basketball players who struggle to stay connected to the sport after college. The story is online at: http://www.kansan.com/stories/2008/apr/28/love_game/

“I was really surprised when I heard about the award,” Rustin Dodd said. “You never really think about awards when you are working on a story. But I'm honored that the judges took the time to read my story and I'm glad they enjoyed it. There are a lot of former Jayhawks playing basketball in Europe and small towns across the country and I'm just thankful that Billy Thomas, Scooter Barry, Aaron Miles and Michael Lee allowed me tell their incredible stories.”

Dent's story, “Athletes with Children,” was published in the Jan. 23, 2008, issue of The University Daily Kansan. Dent profiled student athletes with children and the difficulties they face juggling parenthood while playing a Division One sport. The story is online at: http://www.kansan.com/stories/2008/jan/23/athletes_children

"This was a championship year for both KU basketball and the Kansan sportswriters who covered KU sports, and Rustin and Mark were two of our best sportswriters," Journalism Professor Ted Frederickson said. "Their prize-winning stories went beyond covering games to focus on issues. For Rustin, that issue was how difficult it was for major college athletes to give up a game that dominated their lives when they completed their eligibility and how some of them struggle to continue their careers playing overseas and for the NBA's developmental league. Mark focused on KU athletes who are parents and how difficult it was for them to compete in a major sport and raise their children at the same time, and how NCAA rules actually forbid providing them with any special help."

Five other KU Journalism students have placed in the Hearst competitions this year. Most recently, senior Jon Goering took third place in the photojournalism competition, and received a $1,000 award.

In January, Matt Erickson, a senior from Olathe, Kan., placed first in the In-Depth Writing competition and received a $2,000 award. Megan Hirt, December 2008 journalism graduate from Topeka, Kan., placed second in In-Depth Writing and received $1,500. 2008 graduate Thor Nystrom placed second in the Feature Writing competition, winning $1,500. Journalism senior Patrick Luiz Sullivan de Oliveira placed eighth in Editorial Writing, winning a $500 award. The KU School of Journalism received matching funds.

The Hearst Journalism Awards Program, conducted under the auspices of accredited schools of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication, is fully funded and administered by the W. R. Hearst Foundation. The program consists of six monthly writing competitions, three photojournalism competitions, four broadcast news competitions, and one multimedia competition, with championship finals in all divisions (except multimedia). Presently, 110 accredited schools of undergraduate journalism in the United States are eligible to participate in the program, which awards up to $550,000 in scholarships and grants annually.

Publisher William Randolph Hearst established the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and The Hearst Foundation, Inc. in the 1940s, before his death in 1951. Since then, the Foundations have awarded more than $500 million in grants and programs.