Huge National Wins For U of Montana Journalism Students

In the field of journalism competitions, it's being called one of the most successful seasons ever for the University of Montana. Which Griz led the charge?

A PICTURE-PERFECT FIRST PLACE FINISH

UM News Service tells us that at the Hearst Journalism Awards Program,  University of Montana School of Journalism recent graduate Maddie McCuddy (pictured above left) won the National Photojournalism Championship in San Francisco on June 4, adding a $10,000 prize to an already banner year for the program.

McCuddy’s national championship title, combined with UM’s first-place finish in the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition and a 10th-place overall ranking among the 104 accredited programs nationwide, marks one of the strongest performances in the school’s history in the competition, often called the “Pulitzers of college journalism.”

NATIONAL WRITING CHAMPIONSHIP RUNNER-UP

Also competing at the national championships in San Francisco, recent UM graduate Claire Bernard (pictured above right) earned second place in the National Writing Championship, winning a $7,500 award. Bernard had earlier won first place in the Personality and Profile Writing Competition during the regular season for her profile “Nine hundred seventy-five days.”

After the championships, Claire Bernard will begin a prestigious internship with Bloomberg News in Washington, D.C.

McCuddy’s path to the national title ran through months of competition against the nation’s best undergraduate photojournalists. She qualified for the national championships with a portfolio that drew on personal projects, an internship at the Missoulian newspaper and images produced at the highly competitive Mountain Workshops in Kentucky.

TOUGH COMPETITION

During the full 2025-26 season, 1,353 entries were submitted from students at 104 accredited journalism programs. UM’s No. 10 overall finish earned the school an Overall Intercollegiate trophy. The first-place Intercollegiate Photojournalism finish brought an additional $10,000 award to UM’s journalism school from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.

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ABOUT THE AWARDS

The Hearst Journalism Awards Program has been fully funded and administered by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation for 66 years. The program awards up to $700,000 annually in scholarships, grants and stipends, and is open to undergraduate journalism students at ACEJMC-accredited programs nationwide.

The University of Montana School of Journalism is one of the nation’s oldest and most respected journalism programs. Learn more about this prestigious program here.

Our congratulations to these two talented Grizzlies!