Press Release

LAPLACE – Kathy Hanrahan of LaPlace was recently named the “Best News Reporter in the South” at the Southeast Journalism Conference in February.

A recent summa cum laude graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University, she bested reporters from 60 universities.

Her entry was a portfolio of stories from her time as a staff writer for L’Observateur, including her coverage of the June 2003 tornado in Reserve.

“The tornado story was very close to my heart,” she said, and added, “I wanted to convey the emotion these teachers had to go through as they sifted through the wreckage.”

The story also earned Hanrahan an award from the Louisiana Press Association, to be presented May 1 at the organization’s annual convention in Baton Rouge.

Receiving awards in clarity, organization, news judgement, sources, attribution, leads and Associated Press style, she was the only SLU student to be ranked in more than one catagory.

Hanrahan is now a reporter for the AP.