Pendulum student places in top 10 in Hearst competition

Sophomore student grabs ninth place in nationwide writing contest.

Katie Blunt '15
Sophomore journalism and history double major Katherine Blunt placed ninth in the 2012-2013 Hearst Journalism Awards Breaking News Writing Competition, marking the highest finish ever for an Elon University student in a Hearst writing contest.

Her top-10 story, “Resolution against Chick-fil-A passes in SGA Senate,” detailed the SGA debate surrounding the presence of Chick-fil-A on Elon’s campus.

Blunt, a Communications Fellow, is one of two news editors for The Pendulum, Elon’s student news organization, and her story placed the highest of any Pendulum student since the organization began entering the contest in 2006.

The only other top-10 finish for an Elon student came from alumna Olivia Hubert-Allen ’09, who finished 10th in the Hearst In-Depth Reporting Competition in 2008.

This year, Blunt finished behind students from schools such as The Pennsylvania State University, Indiana University, the University of Florida and Northwestern University, while also finished ahead of students from schools such as the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Northwestern University, Arizona State University and the University of Oklahoma.

The Hearst Foundation’s Journalism Awards Program gives journalism majors an opportunity to compete for personal scholarships, school grants, and stipends by writing stories on current events.

— by Cassidy Stratton ’16