Western Kentucky University’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting has won the Hearst Journalism Awards Program’s Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition for the 17th time in 20 years.

In the third and final photo competition of the year, WKU senior Carl Kiilsgaard of Corvallis, Ore., won the Picture Story/Series Competition and received a $2,000 award. Tyler Bissmeyer, a Louisville senior, placed seventh and received $500. The School of Journalism and Broadcasting received matching awards.

WKU won the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition with the highest accumulated student points in the three photo competitions and will receive $10,000. WKU was followed by University of Florida; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; San Francisco State University; University of Missouri; Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; University of Kentucky; University of Minnesota; Ohio University; Arizona State University.

Kiilsgaard also joins WKU students Bryan Anselm of Carmel, Ind., and Jake Stevens of Scranton, Pa., among the 14 qualifiers for the semifinal round of judging. Six finalists will be chosen to compete for the Hearst national championship in June in San Francisco. In Hearst competitions since 1981, WKU students have won nine photojournalism titles (’87, ’88, ’91, ’92, ’96, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’08).

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.

In the overall competition, WKU’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting 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.

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