Kentucky Kernel Writes for Success

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 26, 2009) - The Kentucky Kernel, the University of Kentucky's independent student-run newspaper, has won two Hearst Prizes from the Hearst Journalism Awards program and 14 awards from the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Louisville Pro Chapter’s 2009 Metro Journalism Awards competition.

UK won fifth nationally in news writing and seventh in photojournalism to obtain two Hearst Prizes. The Hearst Journalism Awards program holds a year-long competition in writing, photography and broadcast news and multimedia for journalism students. The program operates under the auspices of the accredited schools of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication.

In addition, the Kernel won first place in three out of the four writing categories and two out of the three photo categories, from the Society of Professional Journalists Louisville Awards competition.

The following UK students won awards from the SPJ: News Story, first place: Blair Thomas and honorable mention: Jill Laster; Feature Story, first place: Brad Luttrell, second place: Jill Laster, third place: Eric Lindsey; Sports Story, third place: Travis Waldron, honorable mention: Jonathan Smith; Editorial, first place: Brad Luttrell; News Photography, first place: Elliott Hess, second place: Brad Luttrell, honorable mention: Britney McIntosh; Feature Photography, first place: Kasha Stevenson, second place: Allie Garza; and Sports Photography, honorable mention: Ed Matthews.

The Kentucky Kernel is a daily student-run publication at the University of Kentucky with a circulation of 17,000 and a readership of more than 30,000. For more information about the Kentucky Kernel call (859) 257-2872.