UNC Hussman wins sixth consecutive Hearst National Championship; 8 students compete for individual honors
The Hearst Journalism Awards Program has announced UNC Hussman as the 2024 overall national champion in collegiate journalism.
It is the school’s sixth consecutive overall intercollegiate national championship, ninth in the 10 past years and 13th since 2002 — far surpassing the school’s closest competitors.
Considered the Pulitzers of collegiate journalism, the Hearst Awards included 14 monthly competitions with more than 1,315 entries nationwide. UNC Hussman students earned the highest total combined points in monthly writing, photojournalism, audio, television and multimedia competitions held over the past year.
Stembler Distinguished Professor Charlie Tuggle (fourth from left), Dean Raul Reis (center), and Adjunct Instructor Adam Hochberg (sixth from right) with UNC Hussman's Hearst winners. Photo credit to Jakub Mosur.
In addition to the overall win, the school finished first in the multimedia and writing categories and second in the television, photojournalism and audio categories.
“It is nothing short of astounding what our UNC Hussman students have accomplished over the past year in every discipline that we teach in the school,” said Raul Reis, dean of the school. “Our advertising and public relations students work on the front lines of the industry with the world’s most recognizable brands, and our journalism students produce stories and projects that address critical issues and make a real impact with their subjects and audiences. The performance of our students throughout this year’s Hearst competitions is a powerful illustration of how the talent of our students and the dedicated support of our faculty and staff combine to continually reach for new standards of excellence. I thank our faculty for mentoring, elevating and supporting the work of our students competing in the Hearst competitions.”
In addition to the overall win, the school finished first in the multimedia and writing categories and second in the television, photojournalism and audio categories while eight UNC Hussman students were among 29 students nationally who competed for individual honors June 1-6 in San Francisco.
Anna Connors ’24 won the photojournalism national championship and earned a $10,000 award.
Kenzie Bulris ’25 was honored as a finalist in the national multimedia championship earning a $1,500 award.
Marilee Combs ’24 placed third in the national multimedia championship and earned a $5,000 award.
Sinclair Holian ’24 earned finalist honors in the writing national championship along with a $1,500 award. Holian was also recognized with the Best Article of the Year award that came with a $1,000 prize.
Sierra Pfeifer ’24 placed third in the audio national championship, earning a $5,000 award.
Lia Salvatierra ’24 finished second in the writing championship and was awarded $7,500. She also earned honorable mention honors for Best Written Article in the Hearst monthly competitions.
Steven Schlink ’24 placed third in the television national championship, earning a $5,000 award.
Henry Taylor ’25
Henry Taylor ’25 placed second in the audio championship and earned a $7,500 award. Taylor was also honored for Best Use of Audio for News Coverage that came with a $1,000 award.
The individual championship finals were the culmination of monthly competitions throughout the year among students at more than 100 journalism and media programs. While eight UNC Hussman students competed in the individual national championship finals, more than 30 Hussman students were recognized in monthly competitions, leading to the school’s overall intercollegiate championship and strong finishes in each of Hearst’s competitive categories.
Below are the UNC Hussman students who were recognized in the 2023-24 monthly Hearst competitions.
WRITING
Features:
- Shelby Swanson ’25 won first place in Feature Writing for her story “She saw her mother get murdered; now she works to protect families.”
Explanatory Reporting:
- Sinclair Holian ’24 took home second place for her story, “Land Loss and Legacy on Historic Black-owned Farmland.”
- Mika Travis ’24 won fourth place for her story, “Chasing a mystery: Why was his family in a WWII detention camp in Asheville, NC?”
Sports:
- UNC Hussman alumna Kaitlyn Schmidt ’23 was awarded 10th place in sports writing.
Personal/Profile:
- Lia Salvatierra ’24 won third place for her story “A Paralympic swimmer’s two-part race against time.”
Investigative Reporting – Team/Individual
- Kyle Ingram ’23 was awarded eighth place.
PHOTOJOURNALISM
News & Features:
- Dylan Thiessen ’25 won second place in News & Features for his photo submissions.
- Anna Connors ’24 was awarded fifth place for her photo submissions.
Story/Series
- Heather Diehl ’25 won fifth place in the Photojournalism — Picture Story/Series category for her photo story submission.
AUDIO
UNC Hussman students captured first and second place in the Audio category.
- Sierra Pfeifer ’24 was awarded first place for her stories “North Carolina’s first ‘Safe Parking Site’ creates space for homeless” and “'Larks and ravens’: a new spin on contra dancing.”
- Henry Taylor ’25 took home second place in Audio for his stories “UNC’s Long COVID Recovery Clinic helps patients cope with lingering symptoms” and “Mead, or honey wine, is making a resurgence in North Carolina.”
TELEVISION
- In the Television News category, Steven Schlink ’24 was awarded second place for his stories “A Campus on Lockdown: Three Months Later, Here’s What We Know” and “Talking Through Crisis, a Conversation Around Israel and Gaza.”
- Also in the Television News category, Muhsin Mahmud ’24 was awarded seventh place.
MULTIMEDIA
Narrative Video Storytelling:
- Quincy Marks ’25 was awarded third place in Narrative Video Storytelling for her video project “10.”
- Isaiah Dickerson ’24 was awarded seventh place.
Innovative Storytelling:
- In the Multimedia — Innovative Storytelling category, Kenzie Bulris ‘25 was awarded second place for his multimedia web story “Accelerando.”
- Gerard Millman ’24 was awarded fourth place, also in Innovative Storytelling, for his story “The Trumpet Monk.”
Digital News or Enterprise:
- Marilee Combs ’24 took home first place in the Digital News or Enterprise category for her multimedia web story, “A Child of Ukraine.”
- Calli Westra ’24 was awarded third place in Digital News/Enterprise for her piece, “The Art of Science.”
Digital News or Enterprise – Team:
- In the Multimedia Digital News or Enterprise Story Team Competition, first place was awarded to Jennifer Tran ’24, Angelina Katsanis ’23, Heather Diehl ’25, Lucas Thomas ’24, Caleb Sigmon ’24 and Bella Cankurtaran ’24 for their winning piece “Road to Recovery: How one organization is working to address Puerto Rico’s worsening opioid crisis” published in the school's Isla de Fuerza multimedia documentary.
- Second place in the same category was awarded to Gerard Millman ’24, Preston Fore ’23, Lauren Cmiel ’23, Dylan Thiessen ’25, Clara Mello ’25, Jacob Turner ’23 and Yondy Agosto García for their piece “STEP BY STEP – Puerto Rico’s electrical recovery and the efforts for a sustainable future” also published in the school’s Isla de Fuerza multimedia documentary.
Trophy photo and group photo credit to Jakub Mosur.