The Department of Journalism at Grady College has named three journalism students as winners of the Best Stories of Summer 2018 competition for outstanding reporting during their summer internship.
Jeanne Davis, Charlotte Norsworthy and Maddie Ray will each receive $250.
“The Journalism Department began this competition several years ago to celebrate the great work our students do in summer internships, which are so important to their education and their prospects for landing good jobs,” said Janice Hume, head of the Department of Journalism. “Internship supervisors have always raved about their work, but we rarely got to see it. Now we do. I love reading and watching these stories. They make me proud. These winners represent the best of the best.”
Writing for WUGA and Flagpole in Athens, Georgia, Davis authored pieces on the decline in fireflies and the United Campus Workers of Georgia campaign to lower parking fees on UGA’s campus.
“This summer I found myself drawing on techniques I learned in Dr. Hollander’s data journalism class while doing research for my piece on the campus worker’s labor union,” said Davis. “With income inequality on the rise for the past three decades, I think it’s important to make labor reporting a priority and I feel grateful to be even a small part of that.”
Norsworthy spent her summer at National Public Radio (NPR), reporting on the decline in teens working summer jobs, competitive job benefits in the labor market and the drop in unemployment rate for African Americans.
“This internship has inspired me to tackle difficult subject matter in journalism and has taught me to apply things like finances and politics in a way that you and I can understand,” Norsworthy said. “I am so grateful to have worked with NPR’s Business Desk this summer, and I hope to continue learning and reporting on those hard-to-digest stories.”
Ray interned at 11Alive in Atlanta, Georgia, reporting on a variety of stories in the Atlanta area.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better summer,” Ray reflected. “I left my internship at 11Alive filled with excitement and motivation to continue working towards being the best journalist I can be so I can best serve my community.”
This is one of the many projects made possible by the Don E. and Carolyn McKenzie Carter Endowment for Journalism Excellence, the college’s first endowment of a departmental mission made possible by the generous support of the Carters.
“We are grateful to the late Carolyn and Don Carter for making this competition possible,” said Janice Hume.
This is the fourth year the Journalism Department has held the competition.