Andy Jacobs places ninth in the Hearst Explanatory Reporting category

Thursday, February 18, 2021 - 3:15pm

Journalism, broadcasting and psychology triple major, Andrianna “Andy” Jacobs earned ninth place in the Hearst Explanatory Writing Competition.

Explanatory journalism was a new category this year and had 121 entries in total. Jacob’s story “Going Red” was first featured on the Nebraska Climate Change website and later picked up by the Lincoln Journal Star.

During the Fall 2019 semester, Jacobs took CoJMC’s “Climate Change Nebraska Depth Reporting” course taught by professors Joe Starita and Jenn Sheppard.

For her semester-long project, she was assigned to research and write a story about how the Winnebago are planting ancient corn to regrow their culture.

“Right from the get-go I loved it,” Jacobs said. “I didn’t know anything about Winnebago, and I genuinely loved researching their culture and getting to meet and interact with so many different people for the story.”

Starita worked with Jacobs on drafts of the story throughout the semester.

“Andy was able to write this challenging story while also fulfilling her substantial duties as co-captain of the varsity women’s track team,” Starita said. “She is the embodiment of a student-athlete.”

When Jacobs enrolled in the Climate Change Nebraska course she wasn’t sure what to expect, but after finishing the course she realized how great of an impact it made on her as a student journalist.

“It was a lot of work, but I learned so much,” Jacobs said. “It was the most fun I’ve ever had writing a story and I really think it makes an impact on those who read it.”

Earning a Hearst award has only furthered Jacobs goal to become a journalist. After graduating from CoJMC this May, she plans to get her masters in journalism and go into investigative reporting for a major sports network.

“I always thought that if I wanted to change the world I would have to do these big instrumental things, but after taking this class I realized that’s not the case,” Jacobs said. “I can do small things and still make a positive impact, a lot of times those small things lead to something big.”

 

Andy Jacobs