U.Nebraska-Lincoln broadcast journalism student Brandi Kruse of Glyndon, Minn., will be competing in the 50th annual National Broadcast News Championship of the Hearst Journalism Awards Program. UNL is one of 110 colleges and universities with accredited undergraduate journalism schools eligible to participate in the program.
The Hearst Journalism Awards Program was founded in 1960 to provide assistance and encouragement to journalism education at a college and university level. The program awards scholarships to students that perform outstandingly in college-level journalism and also awards grants to the students’ schools. The Hearst Foundation, named in honor of publisher William Randolph Hearst, has, since 1948, contributed more than $735 million in areas of education, healthcare, social services and the arts in every state.
Kruse, who is one of five finalists from around the country, has been selected for the 2010 Broadcast News Championship, which will be held June 8-12 in New York City. Kruse is a finalist in the radio division of the Hearst National Broadcast News Championship. Other categories for the competition consist of six monthly writing competitions, photojournalism, and four broadcasting news competitions, which are divided into two subgroups of television and radio. Awards will range from $1500-$5000.
Kruse, who grew up in a small town, credits the hour and half bus ride she took every morning to school for her love of journalism. Having to wake up so early, she would watch the national news with her mother.
“When I was very young I enjoyed watching the news and I had a very inquisitive nature. I also just loved talking to people. My mom always told me how I would tell stories to anyone who would listen, and when it comes down to it, a journalist is a story teller. My dream of being a reporter gave me hope, and news became an escape from any problem I had at school or at home,” said Kruse.
Kruse notes that journalism gives her a chance to feed her curiosity, to share knowledge with other people and to keep emotions in mind while reporting, because good news is meant to inspire, illuminate, and at times even aggravate people. Her first experience in journalism was working for a radio station in Lincoln, 1240 KFOR-AM, as a reporter/anchor. She earned a statewide award for her work there. She is also a member of ABC News on Campus at UNL and has worked for NET Television on political and social documentaries. She has also interned at KOLN/KGIN-TV News in Lincoln, ESPN Radio in Fargo, N.D., and has appeared on the college’s program, “Star City News.”
“You have to develop an identity as a reporter and decide off the bat what it is you want to get and give as a journalist. That identity is what will drive you, and if you lose it you will lose your passion,” she said.
In the world of journalism today, Kruse notes that the news is losing its credibility (a journalist’s worst nightmare) and the tendency to have a news overload on stories that aren’t of importance. She wants to get the news’ identity back and make it captivating again.