Celebrating the Future of the Evolving Business of News

The top middle and high school journalists in the state of Connecticut gathered in Wilde Auditorium, all driven by an impulse to tell the stories that matter to them. And for the professional journalists who were there to celebrate the students' work, the future of journalism is as strong as ever.

That's not to say the profession isn't evolving, with new tools such as AI at journalists' disposal. But Chris Topf, president and general manager of FOX61, said humans will always be at the center. "The one thing that newsrooms need is journalists, storytellers," he told the students. "We need actual people to do the stories and meet people. So don't worry about AI if you really want to do news. You keep doing it, working on your craft."

The University has hosted the awards ceremony since 2018. Each year, students develop one- to two-minute news-style stories on subjects that matter to them - filming interviews and B-roll, writing, producing, and editing the pieces.

Their work is then evaluated by a panel of FOX61 professionals on uniqueness, creativity, presentation, and engagement. Nominated pieces are also aired on FOX61 in the weeks leading up to the ceremony. Students who take home top honors in their respective categories share prize money.

Each student, no matter their grade level, is also offered a $5,000 scholarship to attend the University of Hartford's Hillyer College of Arts and Sciences.

"Ever since we started hosting this event, I have been so impressed with the passion, the dedication, the intelligence of students participating in the program," said Jack Banks, director of UHart's School of Communication in his remarks to the students. "You call attention to important issues and events in Connecticut in your news stories and public service announcements with sharp writing, engaging video, and insightful interviews."

As the landscape of journalism evolves, the training that journalists receive becomes more and more important. Programs like UHart's Digital Media and Journalism program can help them succeed.

"It's very important for us to have seasoned journalists," Topf said. "We have to deal with so much misinformation on a day-to-day basis. We've got to weed through a lot of things to make sure that we're getting the correct information to our audiences. So all of you, everybody that's nominated here today, everybody that submitted anything … I appreciate all of you for all the hard work that you've put in."

To view the winning entries and nominees, click below.