Eastern Student Honored as Top Collegiate Journalist

                                         Adam Hemphill '09                   

Willimantic, Conn. - Eastern Connecticut State University senior Adam Hemphill has been named recipient of the second annual UWire 100, a free membership organization for college student media which honors the nation's top collegiate journalists. UWire 100 winners were selected from more than 825 nominations and represent students from more than 135 schools. A UWire panel evaluated each candidate based on demonstrated excellence in the field of collegiate journalism.

            "This is a remarkable group of journalists," said Joe Weasel, CEO of UWIRE.  "Each has made a significant impact on the field already - they are talented, hard workers and gifted storytellers. Each was nominated by their peers and advisers, who recognized their potential to shape the ever-changing media industry in the coming years."

"Adam will always be on the cutting edge of technology because he has a cutting edge intellect," said Eastern Communication Professor Edmond Chibeau who recommended Hemphill for the award." He understands more about how online journalism will be positioned in the next 20 years than most of the managing editors of print journals in the United States,"

            The announcement of the UWIRE 100 is the culmination of a three-month national search for the country's top 100 collegiate journalists.  The selected students have excelled in one or more mediums, have a proven commitment to journalism, and have the potential to help revolutionize their industry. The UWIRE 100 students hail from schools ranging from small liberal arts colleges to large state universities.

            UWIRE is operated by Palestra.net, an online network of student multimedia reporters on more than 100 college campuses. In addition to distributing more than 2,500 articles to campus media member outlets each week, the site enables young media talent to interact, share user-generated content, and deliver their work to a national audience through UWIRE's Syndication Service. UWire reaches a variety of national content partners, including CBS News, FOX News, Yahoo! and LexisNexis. UWIRE.com features the first online career networking community dedicated exclusively to college journalists and aspiring media professionals.