Two Western Kentucky University students have received awards in the second of three photojournalism competitions in the 2008-09 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

Bryan J. Anselm of Carmel, Ind., placed fourth in the News and Sports category and received a $750 award. He also qualified for the semifinal round of judging in June.

Thomas Simonetti of Bowling Green placed fifth and received a $600 award. WKU’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting received matching awards.

WKU  is in first place after the first two photo competitions in the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition and is followed by University of Florida; University of Minnesota; University of Kentucky; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of Missouri; Arizona State University; Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; University of Kansas; San Francisco State University. The final winners will be announced in April.

Often called the “Pulitzers of College Journalism,” the Hearst Journalism Awards Program, now in its 49th year, holds yearlong competitions in writing, photojournalism, broadcast news and multimedia with championship finals in all divisions except multimedia. The program awards more than $500,000 in scholarships and grants annually.

WKU has won the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition 16 times in the past 19 years. In the overall competition, WKU has finished among the top eight in the nation for 15 consecutive years including No. 1 finishes in 2005, 2001 and 2000.

More information about the Hearst competitions is available online at http://www.hearstfdn.org/hearst_journalism/index.php.

For information, contact James Kenney at (270) 745-6307.