UNC J-school alumna takes third in Hearst feature writing competition

Claire McNeill, a May 2014 UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media graduate, won third place in the Hearst Journalism Awards feature writing competition.

McNeill, a Tampa Bay Times reporter, will receive a $1,500 award for her story “His Own Hike” — a Synapse magazine feature about a UNC student who took a gap year to hike the Appalachian Trail.

Her feature story was selected from a record 153 entries from students at 81 schools.

With the win, the school is in second place of the 2014-15 Hearst writing competition.

The school finished fourth overall — and third in photojournalism, broadcast and multimedia — in the 2013-14 Intercollegiate Competition of the Hearst Journalism Awards.