Demkovich, Gardner place in Hearst feature writing contest
Media School sophomores Laurel Demkovich and Sarah Gardner have placed third and fourth, respectively, in the Hearst Journalism Program’s feature writing contest.
Nicolas Rivero of Northwestern University won first and Cole Norum of Drake University was second.
Demokovich’s and Gardner’s entries were among 141 feature stories submitted from 74 schools.
The feature category is one of 14 monthly competitions of the Hearst program, which consists of five writing, two photojournalism, one radio, two TV and four multimedia categories, with championship finals in all divisions. Students submit their previously published work for the contests. Students from 106 undergraduate journalism programs at universities across the nation are eligible to participate.
The program awards up to $500,000 in scholarships and grants annually, including student scholarships and matching grants for schools. Demkovich will receive $1,500 and Gardner $1,000 for their efforts.
Schools also receive matching gifts, as well as a prize at the end of the cycle for the school that accumulates the most points based on their students’ total points. As of today, Indiana University is in first in the Intercollegiate Writing Competition with the highest accumulated points.
The Media School students have had success in past Hearst contests. Seven IU students competed in the finals last June, and Alden Woods, BAJ’16, won first prize.
The Hearst Journalism Awards Program is conducted under the auspices of accredited schools of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication, and is fully funded and administered by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.