SPJ/LA’s 2017 Scholarship Awards Application Deadline: Friday, June 9, 2017
“You fell in love with journalism. You dreamt about it. You decided to follow that dream.”—Tom Huang, Sunday & Enterprise Editor, Dallas Morning News
The Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists will be awarding scholarships to students interested in pursuing careers in journalism.
Students from Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties who have completed at least their freshman year of college, as well as graduate students from those same counties, are eligible to apply for all scholarships.
High school seniors from Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties are eligible to apply for the Bill Farr Memorial Scholarship.
The awards will be announced July 11, 2017.
The financial awards range up to $1,000 for each of the following scholarships:
- Ken Inouye Memorial Scholarship – This scholarship is awarded to a college journalist of color and is aimed at increasing ethnic diversity in newsrooms. Ken Inouye was a 22-year-old cameraman for the International News Service, covering the Korean War, when he was killed aboard an Army aircraft. ($500 - $1,000)
- Helen Johnson Memorial Scholarship – This scholarship is awarded to a college student pursuing broadcast journalism. This award honors the late Helen Johnson, a producer of “Channel 4 News Conference” and an associate producer of “Meet the Press.” ($500 - $1,000).
- Carl Greenberg Memorial Scholarship – This scholarship is awarded to a college student pursuing investigative or political reporting. Carl Greenberg was a political reporter at the Los Angeles Times, famed for being singled out by Richard Nixon as the only reporter who covered him “fairly.” ($1,000).
- Bill Farr Memorial Scholarship – This scholarship is awarded to high school seniors or college students who demonstrate a strong intent to pursue a career in journalism. The award honors the late Bill Farr, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times who sat in county jail for 46 days for refusing to tell a judge which lawyers had violated a gag order during the Charles Manson murder trial. ($500 - $1,000).
On recommendation of the judges, these awards may be divided among two or more equally promising applicants. Scholarship funding is renewable, but renewal is not automatic. Previous winners who continue to meet eligibility requirements may apply to renew their awards. Renewal requests are considered along with all other scholarship applications and given no preference.
Primarily, awards are based on applicants’ potential to succeed in news media careers. However, financial need is considered if all other qualifications of competing applicants are equal.
Applicants may apply for more than one scholarship by checking all of the appropriate boxes on the form, but no more than one scholarship will be awarded to any applicant. Multiple applications will be discarded.
In addition, applicants must:
– Provide proof of enrollment or acceptance in a journalism program at a two-year or four-year college or university.
- If your college does not have a journalism program, or if you are not enrolled in a journalism program, you must supply a letter from an adviser to your student media program, student-run campus news outlet or an SPJ member in good standing in your geographic area, verifying that you intend to pursue a career as a professional journalist and that you show strong potential as a journalist.
- Students completing pre-journalism programs must provide proof they have been admitted to a journalism program.
- Students must have completed at least their freshman year in college, and have at least one semester to complete in a journalism program after the award of the scholarship.
- Graduate students in journalism programs are eligible. However, students in fields, such as advertising, public relations or law, are not eligible.
– Reside in or be enrolled at a high school, university or college in Los Angeles, Orange or Ventura counties. Or, if you are enrolled in college in another state, have graduated high school in Los Angeles, Orange or Ventura counties.
To find out more about the Society of Professional Journalists Greater Los Angeles Chapter, please visit http://spjla.org/
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
COVER SHEET (see below)
Attach to the front of your application, which should contain resume, journalism work samples, and an essay. Be sure your name is on all elements of your submission.
STANDARD RESUME
This document should contain a record of your school and/or professional journalism experience, including positions held, (reporter, city editor, etc.), dates you began and ended work for each position and a brief description of your duties (e.g., “feature editor, assigned and edited six to 10 features a week for a staff of four writers”), and a list of references with contact information.
- You may include additional information, including journalism honors and awards, scholarships or achievements in any field (art or athletics, for example).
JOURNALISM WORK SAMPLES
Students may submit their work in traditional formats, such as clips, tearsheets and prints, or via optical storage devices, such as CD or DVD. Send a self-addressed return envelope with sufficient postage if you want these items returned. Do not send irreplaceable original material.
- Print: Submit three samples of your best work. Photocopies are acceptable.
- Online and multimedia: Web page URLS are acceptable, but hard copy printouts of homepages would be helpful.
- Broadcast: Submit up to three short video and/or audio samples. Microcassettes acceptable.
- Photojournalism: Five or six samples are sufficient, but if you need to send more to show the breadth of your experience, you may do so.
Be sure that your submissions are clearly and accurately identified, with your name and other pertinent information, such as your university, college or high school. You may describe any special circumstances under which the work was done – such as unusually tight deadlines or particularly adverse conditions.
ESSAY
Write no more than 500 words describing your career goals: What specific kind of work do you hope to do in journalism when you graduate and later in your career? What are your expectations as a future practitioner? How will you accomplish your goals? (If you wish for financial need to be considered, include documentation in this statement.)
APPLICATION COVER SHEET
Society of Professional Journalists, Greater Los Angeles Chapter - 2017 Scholarships
NAME ______________________________
MAILING ADDRESS_______________________
CITY__________________________
STATE_______ ZIP__________
TELEPHONE ____________
E-MAIL ADDRESS_______________________
TWITTER HANDLE___________________
Check each of the scholarships for which you are applying:
o Ken Inouye Scholarship – Ethnic diversity scholarship ($500 - $1,000).
o Helen Johnson Scholarship – Broadcast journalism ($500 - $1,000).
o Carl Greenberg Scholarship – Investigative or political reporting ($1,000).
o Bill Farr Scholarship – Journalism majors or future journalists ($500 - $1,000).
ACADEMIC INFORMATION
University, college (or high school if applying for Bill Farr Memorial Scholarship): ______________________________
Major: ___________________________
Minor: ________________________
Grade Point Average (GPA): ___________
Journalism GPA: ______________
Degree sought: BA_______ MA_______ Ph.D. ______
Anticipated date of graduation: ___________________
Date of birth: ______________________________
High school from which you graduated: ______________________________
City and state of your high school: ______________________________
Applications may be submitted either by regular mail or electronically, using universally readable e-mail attachments. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Deadline is midnight, June 9, 2017
Applications by e-mail to Tammy Audi
auditammy@gmail.com
NOTE: Please write “SPJ Scholarship 2017 Application” in the subject line!