The Courier newspaper in Russellville is sponsoring its first Rising Journalist Award competition, which is open to applicants in their junior and senior years of study at Arkansas Tech University and other four-year colleges in the state.
Interested students should forward a one-page resume, along with a cover letter detailing their understanding of the importance of investigative journalism at the community level and a specific plan for a two-part trend story related to any significant issue facing the Arkansas River Valley and its people, to The Courier.
The top three proposals will be selected by The Courier editorial board May 5, with applications due no later than noon May 4, and the students submitting the proposals will be asked to complete their stories for inclusion in Wednesday and Sunday editions during three consecutive weeks starting in mid-May.
Readers will then vote, based on a detailed set of criteria addressing such issues as the impact, relevance and presentation of the story, to determine which student writer should be named the winner of the Rising Journalist Award.
The winner will be featured in a subsequent story in The Courier, and will receive a plaque, in addition to $100 compensation for his or her news contributions during the course of the competition.
Additionally, the winning student journalist will automatically be entered into the top tier of the pool of applicants for a two-year, grant-funded paid position at The Courier sponsored by the Arkansas Community Foundation’s Write for Arkansas program.
To enter, submit materials via e-mail to Courier managing editor Mary Kincy at managingeditor@couriernews.com, or for more information, contact Courier publisher David Meadows at (479) 968-5252.
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