MSU places among the nation's top journalism programs as rising sophomore Ari Saperstein finishes second at the Hearst National Photojournalism Championship.
Students in Michigan State University's School of Journalism earned national recognition across multiple categories in the 2025-26 Hearst Journalism Awards Program, helping the program finish among the top journalism schools in the country.
MSU placed seventh overall in the Hearst Intercollegiate Competition, sixth in the Intercollegiate Multimedia Competition and seventh in the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition. Rankings which reflect student success across writing, photography, multimedia, audio and broadcast journalism categories throughout the academic year.
The Hearst Journalism Awards Program, often referred to as the "Pulitzers of collegiate journalism," recognizes outstanding student work from journalism programs at accredited universities across the United States. The annual competition awards scholarships and honors excellence in writing, photojournalism, audio, television and multimedia storytelling.
For the third consecutive year, MSU submitted entries in all 14 Hearst competition categories, generating $4,500 in awards and participation funding for the School of Journalism. The total included $3,500 for entering all categories and a $1,000 matching grant tied to a top-five student finish in the Multimedia III: Interactive category.
"This year's results reflect the breadth of talent across our journalism programs and student media organizations," said Jarrad Henderson, professor of practice in the School of Journalism and Hearst contest coordinator. "Our students continue to demonstrate that they can compete with the best journalism students in the country across a wide range of storytelling formats."
Among the top student finishers were:
Maya Kolton, rising senior, who placed fifth in Multimedia II: Innovative Storytelling
Ari Saperstein, rising sophomore, who placed sixth in Photography I: News and Features and seventh in Photography II: Picture Story/Series
Maya Kolton, Megan Basile, Cole Pannel and Kaitlyn Delany, who placed seventh in Multimedia IV: Team Enterprise Story
Julia Roeder, rising sophomore, who placed eighth in Investigative Reporting
Alex Walters, 2026 graduate, who placed eighth in Audio: Journalism Podcast
Ethan Hunter, 2025 graduate who placed 18th in TV I: Features
Stella Govitz, Sophie Scureman-Stoops, Ben Rakolta, Ethan Hunter, Aleesa Luecker and Jada Vasser, who placed 20th in Multimedia I: Narrative Storytelling
The results also highlighted several areas of sustained excellence for MSU students. Photojournalism emerged as one of the program's strongest categories, with top-10 finishes in both photography competitions. Investigative reporting continued its run as a consistent top-performing category, while multimedia storytelling categories produced multiple national recognitions.
Saperstein finishes second at national Hearst championship
The School of Journalism's strongest individual performance came from Ari Saperstein, who capped off an exceptional first year by placing second in the 2026 Hearst National Photojournalism Championship in San Francisco.
Saperstein qualified for the championship after earning top finishes in two Hearst photojournalism competitions during the academic year, placing sixth in Photography I: News and Features and seventh in Photography II: Picture Story/Series. His performance earned him an invitation to compete against the nation's top collegiate photojournalists at the Hearst Championships, held May 30-June 5 in San Francisco.
Saperstein became the youngest student ever to qualify for the national championship in the competition's 66-year history. He also became the youngest competitor ever to earn a runner-up finish at the national championship.
Competing against some of the country's most accomplished student journalists, Saperstein finished second nationally in photojournalism, a remarkable achievement for a student who has just completed his freshman year and will enter the fall semester as a sophomore.
"Being a finalist at Hearst was honestly one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had," Saperstein said. "It was a powerful reminder of why journalism matters."
During the competition, Saperstein said he was forced to adapt after several planned story ideas fell through. By shifting his focus from pursuing pre-planned ideas to simply talking with people, he connected with a young man with cognitive disabilities and his family, a story that ultimately shaped his championship experience.
"It reminded me that journalism isn't about showing up with the perfect plan," Saperstein said. "It's about being curious, listening to people and being open to wherever the story takes you."
Henderson said Saperstein's achievement is particularly notable given his age and experience level.
"To see a student reach the Hearst Championships is an accomplishment in itself, but for Ari to finish second nationally as an upcoming sophomore is extraordinary," Henderson said. "It speaks to his talent, work ethic and ability to tell compelling visual stories at the highest level."
Saperstein credited his success to the mentorship and opportunities he received during his first year at Michigan State University, including support from Henderson and hands-on experience through student media.
"At the end of the day, the awards are amazing, but what stays with me are the people I met, the stories they trusted me to tell and the relationships I built along the way," Saperstein said. "That experience reaffirmed why I love journalism and why I want to continue telling stories that matter."
Saperstein's runner-up finish continues a recent trend of School of Journalism students earning opportunities to compete on journalism's national stage. According to Henderson, Saperstein is the second MSU visual journalist in the last three years (Audrey Richardson in 2024) to advance to the Hearst Championships, further demonstrating the strength of the school's photojournalism and visual storytelling programs.
By Claire Dippel