UK School of Journalism and Media Places in Top 10 in Hearst Photojournalism Awards

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Hearst Awards portfolio submissions from UK students Michael Clubb and Arden Barnes included these images of UK football players by Clubb and one from a story about a fox hunting club by Barnes.
Hearst Awards portfolio submissions from UK students Michael Clubb and Arden Barnes included these images of UK football players by Clubb and one from a story about a fox hunting club by Barnes.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 17, 2020) — The University of Kentucky has made the top 10 in the national Hearst Photojournalism Features and News Competition of the 2020-2021 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. UK student Michael Clubb is the ninth-place finalist and fellow student Arden Barnes is the 11th-place finalist. Clubb and Barnes' submissions consisted of portfolios of eight images each. The winners were selected from 117 entries submitted from 65 universities nationwide in the first of two photo competitions of the year.

UK is now in a tie for third place in the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition, following Western Kentucky in first place and Ohio University in second. UK shares the tie with the University of North Carolina. The ranking is based on the highest accumulated student points from the first of two photo competitions held this year.

"Western Kentucky, Ohio University and the University of North Carolina all have photojournalism programs while we do not. So to have the University of Kentucky in their company at a national level is great news," said School of Journalism and Media Assistant Professor David Stephenson, who is also the photojournalism and multimedia adviser for the Kentucky Kernel. "Our students are competing at the highest levels," on par with such highly recognized schools, he added. "I'm very proud of them."

The final intercollegiate winners will be announced after the Photo II competition in April. The Hearst Awards Program is conducted under the auspices of accredited schools of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication and fully funded and administered by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. 

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

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