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Congratulations to Matt Wettengel on receiving the 2012 Hugh Sidey Scholarship in Print Journalism. Wettengel’s essay titled “The Social Media Effect on Political Journalism” received the highest overall score from the three judges. “I’m honored to receive this prestigious award from the Greenlee School and hope to someday reach Sidey’s caliber of journalism to better serve my community and the world,” said Wettengel.

Wettengel’s essay focused on the presence of social media used in politics today and using Sidey’s newsgathering methods to improve the ways journalists report on politics and the Presidency today and in the future using social media. “Relationship building and in-depth knowledge and analysis should serve as a newsgathering model rather than reliance on press releases and social media excerpts. While there is certainly room for such information and sources, relying too heavily on them does nothing to further journalism and the credibility of the craft,” Wettengel wrote.

Judges included Greenlee School Director Michael Bugeja, Ken Sidey and Lou Thompson.

Wettengel’s award is a $5000 scholarship and an expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., courtesy of the White House Historical Association.