J-school senior qualifies for national championships in Hearst radio competition

Michael Rodriguez, a senior electronic communication major from Newport News, Va., won fifth place in the radio broadcast category of the Hearst Journalism Awards. 

Rodriguez — whose entries “UNC uniform palette now includes more than Carolina Blue” and “Chapel Hill’s fees keep some food trucks out” were selected from among 45 student clips — will receive a $1,000 scholarship and is eligible to compete in the Hearst radio national championship to be held in San Francisco in June. The national championships gather monthly competition winners from broadcast, writing, photojournalism and multimedia disciplines to demonstrate their skills in on-the-spot assignments to compete for additional awards.

Grace Joyal, a December 2012 electronic communication graduate, placed sixth in the radio broadcast category and will receive a certificate of merit.

The UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media finished third overall in the Intercollegiate Competition of the Hearst Journalism Awards during the 2011-12 academic year. Before that, the school won back-to-back Hearst overall national championships. 

The overall finishes result from students placing in monthly writing, photojournalism, broadcast and multimedia competitions during the school year.