Journalism students in the School of Communications at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s College of Social Sciences (CSS) took home 24 awards in the 2020 Society of Professional Journalists Hawaiʻi Chapter’s Excellence in Journalism competition. The awards were announced virtually on September 29. The annual statewide event recognizes the best in journalism in Hawaiʻi.
CSS journalism students swept all student categories, and capstone students from the spring and fall 2020 semesters of JOUR 470 and 480 were recognized in six of eight student media categories.
“It means a lot to get an award,” said Alyssa Rodello, who won first place in the Student Video News category for her story on sex trafficking, and who is scheduled to graduate in May 2022. “I hope it makes people want to learn more, research more, and trust real journalism and all the people involved who are constantly working to make a difference.”
For the past four years, UH Mānoa journalism students have had a strong showing in the contest, winning nearly every award in the student categories.
Student News Reporting in Any Media
- 1st Place: Linsey Dower, “Nothing for dinner: Restaurants lay off staff”
- 2nd Place: Chaz Mihara, “Cool in School” UHMtv Show #20, spring 2020
- 3rd Place: Sophia Compton, “Issues within the Office of Hawaiian Affairs”
Student Feature Reporting in Any Media
- 1st Place: Shafkat Anowar, “We are not American! We will die as Hawaiians, we will never be American!” Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi
- 2nd Place: Professional journalist and UH Mānoa instructor Dave Reardon and Elizabeth Ufi, “Happy Bento sticks to its roots while adapting to COVID-19”
- 3rd Place: Kirsten Sibley, “UH athletes go pro” UHMtv Show #20, spring 2020
Student Spot News in Any Media
- 1st Place: Shafkat Anowar, “I was one of the one million international students afraid of being deported” Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi
- 2nd Place: Cassie Ordonio, “Student media organizations file transparency complaint against the UH Student Media Board”
- 3rd Place: Alexa Gutierrez, “Hawaiʻi’s restaurants coping with COVID” UHMtv Show #19, spring 2020
Student Investigative Reporting in Any Media
- 1st Place: Natanya Friedheim, “Pegge Hopper And The ‘Myth’ Of Native Hawaiians” Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi
- 2nd Place: Geneva Diaz, “Kona Coffee Fraud” UHMtv Show #20, spring 2020
- 3rd Place: Troy Jacobs, “Youth Vaping” UHMtv Show #20, spring 2020
Student Video News
- 1st Place: Alyssa Rodello, “Sex Trafficking” UHMtv Show #22, fall 2020
- 2nd Place: Carina Nocon, “Sexual Misconduct” UHMtv Show #19, spring 2020
- 3rd Place: Megan Lucas, “Haiku Stairs Future” UHMtv Show #19, spring 2020
Student Photography
- 1st Place: Shafkat Anowar, “In memoriam: HPD officers killed in Diamond Head Shooting Tragedy” Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi
- 2nd Place: Kate Sparhawk, “COVID-19 Photo Essay”
- 3rd Place: Georgia Johnson-King and Alyssa Rodello, “Women’s March, Women’s Voices”
Best Multimedia Presentation
- 1st Place: Elicia Tong, “COVID-19 & Taipei’s Shilin Night Market”
- 2nd Place: Samantha Larson and Shafkat Anowar, “Aloha Stadium aglow with Christmas lights for a good cause” Ka Leo O Hawaiʻi
- 3rd Place: Megan Lucas, “Coronavirus in Hawaiʻi vs. the Mainland”
Informational Graphics
- 1st Place: Keila Lee, “Coping with Dementia” UHMtv Show #19, spring 2020
- 2nd Place: Ronnie Allen Campman, “Animal Welfare” UHMtv Show #19, spring 2020
- 3rd Place: Charissa Porter, “Legalizing Marijuana” UHMtv Show #22, fall 2020
These works are examples of UH Mānoa’s goals of Excellence in Research: Advancing the Research and Creative Work Enterprise (PDF) and Enhancing Student Success (PDF), two of four goals identified in the 2015–25 Strategic Plan (PDF), updated in December 2020.
