Friday, August 17, 2001

Contact: Contact: Ted Frederickson, journalism, (785) 864-7634

3 KU journalism students win national Roy W. Howard awards

LAWRENCE -- Three University of Kansas journalism students have won awards and $8,000 in scholarships in the prestigious Roy W. Howard National Competition.

Kursten Phelps, Manhattan, and Jay Krall, Bartlett, Ill., were among four first-place winners. Leita Schultes, Rolfe, Iowa, was one of four runnersup in the competition, which is open to freshman, sophomore and juniors majoring in journalism nationwide.

First place winners receive $3,000 scholarships, and runnersup $2,000. All three KU students will receive an expense-paid trip to Indiana University in Bloomington to receive their awards at a banquet Oct. 22. They will also attend the annual Roy W. Howard lecture and participate in a seminar with the Howard lecturer and other noted journalists.

Each university could enter a maximum of four in-depth articles researched and written by journalism students and published in campus or professional newspapers between March 1, 2000, and Feb. 28, 2001.

Phelps won for her 10-year retrospective on the last civil rights militancy on campus surrounding the election of KU's first black student body president; Krall won for his in-depth examination of the contract the university signed making Coca-Cola the exclusive soft drink vendor on campus and how the Coke funds are distributed; and Schultes was runnerup with her in-depth look at bloody dog fights conducted by Lawrence youth.

All three of KU's award-winning stories were published in The University Daily Kansan and were final projects individually produced by each student for Newspaper Reporting, a class taught by Professor Ted Frederickson in the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Jimmy Gentry, dean of journalism, said, "The success of our students in the Howard competition exemplifies the excellence of our students, faculty and our reporting classes. While we have long been known for fine instruction in editing, our reporting students coached by professors like Rick Musser and Tom Eblen have probably won more Howard and Hearst Awards than any other school."

This year's KU winners are all key staff members of the fall University Daily Kansan. Phelps is editor; Schultes is managing editor; and Krall is sports editor.

The Howard Competition is coordinated by the Indiana University School of Journalism and funded by the Scripps Howard Foundation in memory of Roy W. Howard, a dominant figure in American journalism who was president of United Press and later chairman of the board of Scripps Howard, owner of numerous U.S. newspapers and broadcast stations.

RILEY COUNTY
From Manhattan
Kursten Andrea Phelps, senior majoring in Spanish, journalism and Latin American studies, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Phelps, 1936 Hayes Drive. She is a Manhattan High School graduate.

ILLINOIS
From Bartlett
Jason Anthony Krall, junior majoring in journalism, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Kim Krall, 1187 Lexington. He is an Elgin High School graduate in Illinois.

IOWA
From Rolfe
Mary A. "Leita" Schultes, junior majoring in journalism, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ken Schultes, 48428 290th Ave. She is a Pocahontas High School graduate in Iowa.