Andy Boyle of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications placed second in the William Randolph Hearst Foundation broadcast news competition in February. He will receive a $1,500 award for his second place showing and the J school will receive a matching grant.
Boyle's winning entry was an investigative report on defective bridges that he prepared for 90.3 KRNU. Using computer assisted reporting, Boyle reviewed and analyzed the National Bridge Inventory and found more than 3,000 bridges in Nebraska that have safety ratings similar to the Minneapolis Interstate-35 bridge that collapsed in late 2007.
Boyle's entry was selected from among 24 radio and 51 television entries submitted. Boyle, of South Sioux City, Neb., will submit an additional entry to compete in the semi-final round of judging in April. The top five in radio and five in television will be chosen to compete in the program's National Broadcast News Championships in San Francisco, along with winners of the writing and photojournalism competitions.
The judges, all professionals in radio and television, are: Fred Young, Senior Vice President of News, Hearst-Argyle Television, New York, NY; Barbara Cochran, President, RTNDA, Washington, DC; and Ursula Reutin, News Director, News Talk 97.3 KIRO Radio, Seattle, WA.
The 2008-2009 broadcast news competitions are held in 110 member colleges and universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs. The Broadcast News Competition was added in 1988 to the Hearst Foundation's Journalism Awards Program that for 49 years has included writing, photojournalism, and multimedia, and now offers awards totaling up to $550,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends. To see examples of the winning work, please check the monthly winners section of the Hearst Web site, www.hearstawards.org, which is updated shortly after each competition.