Getsinger and Hoops Among Top 20 Winners in Hearst Spot News Writing Contest

Annie Getsinger

Brandon Hoops

Tom Warhover Newspaper Journalism Chair

Columbia, Mo. (May 13, 2005) -- Annie Getsinger and Brandon Hoops are among the top 20 winners in the Spot News Writing category of the Hearst Foundation's Journalism Awards Program.

"Spot news is the bread and butter of journalism," said Tom Warhover, executive editor of the Columbia Missourian. "Getsinger and Hoops prove we can put a little jam on that bread."

Getsinger received third place and a $1,000 scholarship for her article, "First Missouri execution since 2003." Although she says this was a hard article to write, she learned a lot about herself and her chosen field because of it. Getsinger, of San Antonio, is a sophomore journalism major in the magazine sequence. She is interested in pursuing a career with a focus on health/science journalism.

Hoops received eighteenth place. Hoops, of Freeport, Ill., is a senior news-editorial major. He has worked at the Missourian since January 2004, and also has had professional experience at the Journal Standard in Freeport, Ill. and the News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill. He will graduate in December 2005 and plans to work as a sports reporter.

The winning story by Hoops, "NCAA to Tigers: No Traveling," dealt with NCAA findings of its investigation of the Missouri men's basketball team. The story addressed violations uncovered by the NCAA, the subsequent sanctions (no recruiting trips for two years) and a response by the MU athletic department. Hoops says he worked on the story nonstop from approximately 9:30 a.m. until about 10 p.m. the same day.

Fifty-three students from 32 universities and colleges participated in the program's Spot News Writing Competition. Six monthly writing competitions, three photojournalism competitions, two television broadcast news competitions and two radio competitions comprise the William Randolph Hearst Foundation's Journalism Award Program.