Matt Erickson

Megan Hirt

KU Journalism senior Matt Erickson has won first place in the In-Depth Writing category of the prestigious national William Randolph Hearst Writing Foundation Awards competition. Megan Hirt, December 2008 journalism graduate, placed second.

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.

“We are incredibly proud of these students,” Journalism Dean Ann M. Brill said. “The in-depth writing competition is the most prestigious and competitive part of the Hearst Intercollegiate Writing Contests. These students are continuing the championship tradition set by Jayhawk Journalists for decades.”

There were 92 students competing from 55 journalism schools across the country in the third writing competition of this academic year. Erickson, from Olathe, Kan., will receive a check for $2,000, and Hirt, from Topeka, Kan., will receive a check for $1,500. The KU School of Journalism will receive matching grants.

Erickson, who was editor of The University Daily Kansan in 2008, also qualifies to compete in the National Writing Championship, which will be held in San Francisco this June. His in-depth story was published April 30, 2008, in The University Daily Kansan. The story, “Facing the music: File-sharing lawsuits, delay by University prove costly for 13 students,” can be found online at:  www.kansan.com/stories/2008/apr/30/facing_music/

Hirt’s story, “A Sobering Struggle," profiled alcoholism in college students. It appeared in the Dec. 3, 2008, issue of The University Daily Kansan. It is online at: www.kansan.com/stories/2008/dec/03/sobering_struggle/

“KU’s sweep of the top two places in this competition really reflects the standard of excellence at The University Daily Kansan and the KU School of Journalism,” said Erickson. “The University’s performance in the Hearst writing awards this year only confirms for me that I’ve been lucky enough to work for the best student newspaper in the country and attend the best journalism school in the country. It’s a humbling experience to be a part of that tradition, and I’m thankful for it.”

KU Journalism students also have placed in two other Hearst writing competitions this year. 2008 graduate Thor Nystrom placed second in the Feature Writing competition. He received a $1,500 scholarship. Journalism senior Patrick Luiz Sullivan de Oliveira placed eight in Editorial Writing, winning a $500 scholarship.

“What impresses me about the two stories is how different they are from each other," Journalism Professor Ted Frederickson said. "Matt Erickson’s is a classic newspaper depth story with many, many sources, while Megan Hirt’s is a magazine-style narrative that gets its depth from how deeply it delves into the lives of a few key sources. The other story responsible for putting us in first place in the Hearst intercollegiate competition is Thor Nystrom’s first person story, “To Hell and Back,” which represents still another genre. All three were written for the same Depth Reporting class. That’s why writing classes are more about individual coaching than teaching a group of students how to write. You help each develop his or her own style and strengths.”

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, 108 accredited schools of undergraduate journalism in the United States are eligible to participate in the program, which awards up to $500,000 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.

For more information, contact Jennifer Kinnard, communications coordinator, KU School of Journalism, at 785-760-4117 or jkinnard@ku.edu. For more information about the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, contact Jan Watten, program director, at 415-908-4565 or jwatten@hearstfdn.org, or visit www.hearstawards.org.