The William Randolph Hearst Foundation awarded a Kent State University broadcast journalism student the top television finalist award, along with a $2,600 scholarship.
Jeannette Reyes, a Kent State senior and TV2 reporter and anchor, submitted two of her broadcast stories to the Journalism Awards Program’s Broadcast Features Competition without realizing the award’s prestige.
“I didn’t know much about it," Reyes says. "I found out through my professors and went from there."
She completed two broadcast features, and with some help from her professors, she entered into what she thought was your average scholarship competition.
Little did she know she would receive the $2,600 award for having the first place feature out of 73 entrants from 43 different schools.
“I am still surprised and I wish I knew what did it,” Reyes says. “It’s a really exciting way to end my year, since I’m graduating in May.”
The story was an investigative piece about online job scams, featuring a woman who lost more than $20,000 to a fraudulent online company. Reyes dug deep to reveal this woman’s story, how scams happen and how to look for signs and avoid them.
This is just the first step for Reyes, though. To move on to the semifinals, she’ll have to submit two more features that she must complete before March 2. She says she’s nervous about the next round because she isn’t sure what her next stories will be about, but she’s sure something will snag her interest in time.
Five students will be chosen after semifinals to move forward to the championship in San Francisco. The winners will receive scholarships and matching grants for their schools.
The William Hearst Foundation added the Broadcast News Competition to its Journalism Awards in 1988. The foundation offers scholarships for writing, photojournalism and multimedia.