by Alli Inglebright
CoJMC students Tyler Schank and Adam Warner won second and fifth place, respectively, in the 2017-2018 Hearst Multimedia/Narrative Storytelling - Features Competition for their stories covering issues in Uganda. The students competed against 76 entries from 44 schools.
Schank won second place and a $2,000 scholarship for her multimedia piece that explores the challenges faced by individuals and families born with albinism. It follows the story of a family with five children, two of whom were born with albinism. Schank is eligible to participate in the National Multimedia Championship in San Francisco in June.
“More than anything, I hope the coverage of the award will shed some light on the people in my story and people like them,” Schank said. “I hope people will take a few minutes to really watch and pay attention to the story. People with albinism in Uganda and all over Africa are in danger for many reasons.”
Warner took fifth place for his multimedia piece about a care center in Uganda that cares for children with nodding syndrome, which causes seizures and stunted growth, both physically and mentally, in children. Nodding syndrome occurs only in East Africa.
“Being recognized for my work on this story feels nice, but I didn't put in the hours for any award,” Warner said. “I did it so this story could be the strongest version of itself and so people who watch this video might understand the fatal challenges faced by nodding children and their families.”
The Hearst Journalism Awards Program is composed of 14 monthly competitions in which students from accredited journalism programs nationwide compete for awards in five categories: writing, photojournalism, radio and television, multimedia and a cumulative intercollegiate award. The monthly competitions culminate in a national championship round held in San Francisco every June.
According to the Hearst Journalism Awards Program website: “The program was founded in 1960 to provide support, encouragement, and assistance to journalism education at the college and university level. The program awards scholarships to students for outstanding performance in college-level journalism, with matching grants to the students’ schools.”
