LSU Manship School Senior’s Social Change Reporting Wins Top 20 Place in Hearst Television Features Competition
February 8, 2022
BATON ROUGE—LSU Manship School of Mass Communication senior Allison Kadlubar is among the top
20 winners in the Television Features Competition of the 2021-2022 Hearst Journalism
Awards Program. The Tiger TV news director earned 14th place for her social change-focused
feature packages. Last year, the senior, who is pursuing a dual degree in broadcast
journalism and political science, earned 16th place in the same competition.
Hearst Journalism Awards Program received more than 90 entries from journalism schools across the nation. The program announced winners Jan. 11.
The program recognized Kadlubar for two broadcast reports the Lake Charles native created as a reporter for LSU’s official student-run organization Tiger TV. The senior’s feature stories spotlight mental health in gymnastics and undocumented cemeteries that are segregated.
“Placing in the top 15 this year is truly an honor,” Kadlubar said. “Jumping from 16th to 14th place meant that my hard work over the past year has improved. I try to work on stories that impact my community and spark a change. Being recognized nationally for this and my storytelling abilities encourages me to keep striving to make an impact with each story I report."
The Lake Charles native’s feature story, “Baton Rouge Gym Aims for the Gold in Reshaping Mental and Physical Health among Future Gymnasts," describes how the mental health struggles of most-decorated U.S. gymnast Simone Biles, during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, influenced gymnastics in Baton Rouge. Kadlubar discovered Valor Gymnastics’ enrollment decreased after the mental health of young, female gymnasts became stigmatized. Biles inspired the gymnastics company to help destigmatize the mental health of girl gymnasts by having a more positive training environment and providing useful resources for mental well-being.
“I felt like this story shined light on an issue that needed to be heard across the community,” Kadlubar said.
Kadlubar’s other feature story, "Segregated Cemeteries Still 'Haunt' Louisiana," centers on a Black sheriff’s deputy who couldn’t be buried at Oaklin Springs Cemetery in Oberlin, Louisiana last year because of Jim Crow laws that still exist in the city. While working on the story, the senior uncovered several undocumented, segregated cemeteries that aren’t reported under the Louisiana Cemetery Board. The Tiger TV news director wanted to raise awareness about the cemeteries so the board can prevent a similar problem from occurring in the future.
“When I heard about the heartbreaking incident of a cemetery rejecting a Black man from being buried there, I wanted to do everything I could to make sure this didn't happen in Louisiana again,” Kadlubar said.
Professional-in-Residence and Tiger TV Adviser Cindy Carter said Kadlubar’s continued excellence doesn’t surprise her.
“Ally understands that writers never stop learning, growing or challenging themselves,” Carter said. “She earned and deserved her placement in last year's competition. To do so again this year, with an even higher placement, demonstrates Ally's commitment to being the best journalist she can be. It's so exciting to have a young journalist like Ally in the Manship classroom and as a leader in Tiger TV.”
Founded in 1960, the Hearst Journalism Awards Program supports, encourages and assists journalism education at the university level. The program awards scholarships to students for outstanding performance in writing, photojournalism, audio, television and multimedia competitions. Read more about the 2021— 2022 Hearst Television Features winners.
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LSU Student Media provides media experiences to students through The Reveille newspaper, lsureveille.com and The Reveille mobile app; Tiger TV; KLSU-FM radio; and the Gumbo yearbook. All four outlets are led and staffed by students, supported by professionals, and provide real-world experience for aspiring broadcasters, program directors, writers, editors, photographers and videographers, web producers, designers and others. Many participating students are pursuing majors through LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication.
LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication ranks among the strongest collegiate communication programs in the country, with its robust emphasis on media and public affairs. It offers undergraduate degrees in public relations, journalism, political communication, digital advertising and pre-law, along with four graduate degree programs: Master of Mass Communication, Ph.D. in Media and Public Affairs, Certificate of Strategic Communication and dual MMC/Law degree. Its public relations students were recently ranked the #1 team in the nation, and its digital advertising and student media teams frequently earn national recognition.