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Two Statehouse File Reporters Among Top Placers In Keating Writing Contest

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Two Statehouse File Reporters Among Top Placers In Keating Writing Contest

  • Staff Report, TheStatehouseFile.com
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INDIANAPOLIS—Ten student journalists chased $6,000 in journalism prizes Saturday. In five hours, they had to interview, write and file a creative, compelling and well-written story that would earn them a top cash award in the 35thannual Thomas R. Keating Competition.

Pictured left to write, Taylor Wooten, Alexa Shrake, Tabby Fitzgerald, Haley Pritchett, Carolina Puga Mendoza and Isaac Gleitz, all Franklin College students and Statehouse File reporters, were six of 10 finalists at the 35th annual Thomas R. Keating Competition in Indianapolis Saturday. Wooten claimed third prize while Shrake took second.

The assignment was “Indianapolis in Flux.” Students were encouraged to look at how downtown was emerging from the pandemic, dealing with race relations or weathering its large-scale construction projects.

Augusta Nafziger, a Goshen College junior, won first place and $3,000 for her story about the music scene’s recovery from the pandemic. Nafziger is from Weyers Cave, Virginia, and is currently features editor of Goshen’s student newspaper, The Record.

“This story had impressive sourcing and addressed a topic in a current way,” the judges said. “We liked the theme that flowed through. It was tightly written and publication ready.”

Finishing second and earning $1,750 was Franklin College junior Alexa Shrake, who wrote about social justice through art.

“This was a very vivid story that painted a picture beautifully,” said the three judges. “A smart way to keep a tight focus on the topic.”

Shrake is from Martinsville, Indiana, and is co-executive editor of Frankin College’s news magazine, The Franklin. She also regularly reports for TheStatehouseFile.com, Franklin College’s bureau at the Indiana Statehouse.

Taylor Wooten, a Frankin College senior and another Statehouse File reporter, earned third place and $1,250 for her story on social justice and COVID-19. Wooten is from Clarksville, Indiana, and is sports editor of The Franklin.

“A very descriptive and informative story that really made us feel the scene,” the judges said of Wooten’s piece. “Strong reporting.”

Franklin provided four other finalists in the competition, all present or former Statehouse File reporters: Tabby Fitzgerald, Isaac Gleitz, Haley Pritchett and Carolina Puga Mendoza.

Evan Gerike, Mary Claire Molloy and Ryley Ober, all of Indiana University, rounded out the field.

Sarah Bahr, a 2017 Keating finalist and now a regular freelance writer for The New York Times, spoke at the award banquet at the Skyline Club. She has a bachelor’s and master’s degrees from IUPUI.

The contest is named in honor of Keating, a popular former Indianapolis Star columnist and Lilly Endowment executive who died in 1985 at the age of 45. Both the Lumina Foundation and Lilly Endowment Foundation helped underwrite the two-day competition.

Each Keating finalist received $100 and a copy of the book “Indiana Faces and Other Places,” a collection of Keating’s work for The Star from 1966 to 1982.

Since its inception in 1986, the Keating program has awarded more than $170,000 to Indiana college and university students.

More information on the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation is available at: IPCF Facebook @IndyPressClub.

 

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