UA Student Places Among Best in National Hearst Journalism Competition

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of Alabama senior Daniel Cherry, a telecommunication and film and political science major, placed seventh in the radio news category in the William Randolph Hearst Foundation Journalism Awards Program for two of his pieces produced for Alabama Public Radio.

Hearst Journalism Awards program recognizes exceptional performances by journalism students across the nation and consists of 14 competitions in college writing, photojournalism, radio and television broadcast news and multimedia. The top 10 finalists in each competition will earn scholarship awards with matching grants going to their schools.

Cherry, a general assignment reporter for Alabama Public Radio, competed against students from nearly 40 other schools, and he took home a $500 scholarship award.

His two winning submissions provided coverage of changes in Southern voting patterns during the 2008 presidential election and the revitalization of a Tuscaloosa housing project.

“My co-workers are trying to drill into me that you might have one specific example, but generally there’s a much broader demographic that it applies to,” Cherry said. “It makes me really happy that I’m going to UA, a place that does a great job of training students and giving them opportunities to participate in these things. I feel a little better about job security because I’m getting hands-on professional experience now.”

Alabama Public Radio is located in Reese Phifer Hall and part of the College of Communication and Information Sciences at UA, one of the most prestigious communication colleges in the nation. C&IS consistently is ranked among the top 10 in number of doctoral degrees awarded and in many of its research programs.

Listen to Cherry’s award-winning newscasts by downloading them using these links:
“Lost Campaign”
“Housing Project”