Two CoJMC students make top five in Hearst Multimedia competition

Wednesday, February 6, 2019 - 3:15pm

by Molly Roe

Two CoJMC students have been named top five finalists in the Hearst Multimedia I/Narrative Storytelling – Features Competition of the 2018-2019 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. There were 74 entries from 46 schools submitted in the first multimedia competition of the year.

Isaiah Somanas, a senior broadcasting major received fourth place and a $1,000 award for his project on the recovery efforts of parrots in Puerto Rico and the effects Hurricane Maria had on the species. His project can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdH6wFFYgXw.

Kenneth Ferriera, a junior journalism major received fifth place and will also get a $1,000 award. Ferriera’s project focused on a Puerto Rican family and how Hurricane Maria affected their lives. His project is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzGKUvyIFsU.

Both Somanas’s and Ferriera’s projects were completed as part of the in-depth Global Eyewitness: Puerto Rico project led by Professor Bruce Thorson.

The CoJMC placed second in the Intercollegiate Multimedia Competition with the second highest accumulated student points from the first of four multimedia competitions. The college will earn $4,000 for this achievement.

The Journalism Awards Program, now in its 59th year, added multimedia to the competitions in 2010. The program also includes five writing, one radio, two television, and two photojournalism competitions offering up to $700,000 in scholarships, matching grants and stipends. 104 member universities of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication with accredited undergraduate journalism programs are eligible to participate in the Hearst competitions.

Hearst journalism logo
Both Somanas’s and Ferriera’s projects were completed as part of the in-depth Global Eyewitness: Puerto Rico project led by Professor Bruce Thorson.