ASU Cronkite School wins top honors at Hearst Journalism Awards

Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication placed third overall in the 2021–22 Hearst Journalism Awards program and scored in the top five in writing, photojournalism and television categories.

The program, often referred to as the Pulitzers of college journalism, holds monthly contests for writing, audio, television, photojournalism and multimedia reporting, culminating with a national championship competition in those categories in late spring. 

Journalism schools that win top honors receive prize money while winning students are awarded scholarships.

In the overall category, the top three schools were the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Florida and Arizona State University. 

ASU also scored third place for photojournalism, fourth in the writing category, fourth for audio and television, and eighth for multimedia. 

After the monthly contests, Cronkite School student Alberto Mariani and recent graduate Kiera Riley were selected to compete in the 2022 Hearst National Journalism Awards Championship, during which winners of the individual competitions faced off in a live competition that consisted of reporting, writing and photographing stories.

Mariani placed third in the Photojournalism championship and was awarded a $5,000 scholarship, as well as a Hearst Medallion. He also received an additional $1,000 scholarship after receiving Best Portfolio from the semifinals. 

Mariani previously placed first in the Photojournalism I category for news and features in the monthly competition. 

“Being able to participate in the Hearst Awards National Competition was an incredible experience, and to win something at the end of it made it even more special. However, the most enriching part of the championship was meeting and hanging out with five other extremely talented photographers, as well as the opportunity to talk to and share ideas with some of the most capable editors and professionals in the industry,” Mariani said.

Riley received a $1,500 scholarship after being named a finalist in the Writing category. She also received an additional $1,000 after her story was named Article of the Year. Riley placed second in the monthly competition for the Features category for her story “Dubbing ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ into Navajo Language”  before being selected for the championship.

“Being a Hearst finalist was the highlight of my college career. I had the privilege of meeting and learning from some of the most talented journalists in the field. It was such an honor,” Riley said. 

Students who placed in the monthly competitions are as follows:

Photojournalism I – News and Features 

• 1st: Alberto Mariani, Photo Collection, Cronkite News.
• 13th: Samantha Chow, Photo Collection, Cronkite News.

Features

• 2nd: Kiera Riley, “Dubbing ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’ into Navajo Language,” Cronkite News.

Photojournalism II – Picture Story/Series

• 4th: Marlee Smith, "The Western Way of Life," Cronkite News.

Exploratory Writing

• 4th: Chris Howley, “Diversifying the pack: Cross fostering helps Mexican wolf population boost genetic mix,” Cronkite News.
• 10th: Mikenzie Hammel, “Advocates spotlight an overlooked cause of maternal mortality: mental health,” Cronkite News.

Television II – News

• 2nd: Faith Abercrombie, “Eating Disorders Increase,” “Graffiti Busters” and “Therapeutic Foster Care,” Cronkite News.
• 4th: Raven Payne, “Downwinders,” “Point in Time” and “School Bus Driver Shortage,” Cronkite News.

Sports

• 7th: Amiliano Fragoso, “Last Chance Yuma: Thriving Arizona Western soccer program bonds a community,” Cronkite News.
• 9th: Gabrielle Ducharme, “Rez ball rebirth in Chinle: Navajo Nation rebounds as pandemic takes its toll,” Cronkite News.

Multimedia Narrative Video Storytelling

• 8th: Travis Robertson, “What the New Stimulus Plan Means for College Students,” The State Press.

Multimedia Narrative Video Storytelling

• 14th: Drake Presto, “Herberger student who lost job to COVID-19 starts vintage clothes business,” The State Press.

Personality/Profile Writing

• 18th: Samantha Byrd, “‘It was an open country’: Gadsden resident reflects on life along the border,” Cronkite News.

Audio News/Features

• 20th: Karen Marroquin, “Pregnant people aren’t getting COVID vaccine, health providers worry,” Cronkite News.

Television Features

• 20th: Zachary Larsen, “Rodeo Team,” Cronkite News, and “Trailblazing football coach makes a comeback,” Arizona PBS.

Multimedia Digital News/Enterprise Story

• 12th: Ike Everard, “Cody Carter: One of the last true great American twirlers,” The State Press.

Multimedia Innovative Storytelling and Audience Engagement

• 13th: Judah Brody, “Breaking the stigma of arts through pursuing music as an Asian American student,” The State Press.

Story written by Connor Fries