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The competition, established in 1984 in cooperation with the Indiana University School of Journalism, honors the memory of the journalist who led Scripps Howard Newspapers from 1922-1953 and United Press International from 1912-1920. Until this year, the winners received scholarships and their college newspapers were awarded grants.

Judith G. Clabes, president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Foundation, said the new prize responds to the need for today’s student journalists to better understand international affairs.

The expenses-paid trip will be led by Bradley J. Hamm, dean of the journalism school at Indiana University and a Roy W. Howard scholar, who has extensive travel experience throughout Asia. Travel will commence June 11 and conclude June 24 with an awards luncheon in Chicago.

“We are honoring the legacy of Roy Howard with this reporting award because he lived a global life as a reporter and editor long before most journalism schools taught about international reporting,” said Dr. Hamm. “These young journalists will have the opportunity of a lifetime to learn about the media and culture of Japan and Korea.”

The competition, which attracted entries from undergraduates in nearly every state in the country, was judged by a panel of outstanding journalism professionals and educators.

“The stories the students submitted for the contest showed they can already report in depth and tell compelling stories,” said Jody Beck, director of the foundation’s Semester In Washington program. “What impressed us most was their awareness that they need to know more about their extended community. Some have traveled overseas and some have not, but the winning students realized that 21^st century journalists need to experience other cultures to make sense of the news for their audience.”

The nine winners – chosen for the quality of their published work and an essay about their interest in international affairs – are:

Julie Chazyn, French and print journalism major at Florida International University, Miami - Chazyn, who was born in Brazil and grew up in France, has written for the Miami Herald and several other Florida publications. She is working on her second novel.

Stephanie Chen, journalism and political science major at Northwestern University, Chicago  – Chen has worked as a reporter at The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, The Olathe News in Kansas and the Miami Herald. She has three years of experience as a reporter and editor at The Daily, Northwestern’s student newspaper.

Audrie Garrison, journalism and political science major at Indiana University, Bloomington – Garrison, a freshman, has already written more than 80 articles for the Indiana Daily Student. She will work this summer as a reporter at the Shelbyville (Ind.) News.

Don Jordan, recent journalism and film graduate from Michigan State University – Jordan has held internships at the Palm Beach Post, Houston Chronicle Washington bureau, the Erie (Pa.) Times-News and Metro Times, a Detroit weekly. He just finished a semester as managing editor of MSU’s independent student newspaper, The State News.

Alex Kraus, journalism and East Asian languages and literature major at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va. – Kraus covers technology and telecommunications for a university webcast and will be writing for USA Today Online this summer.

Zvika Krieger, Middle Eastern politics major at Yale University, New Haven, Conn. – Krieger has written for Cairo Magazine, the Jerusalem Post and the weekly New Haven Advocate. He has appeared on Fox News and NBC News and served as executive editor of the Yale Herald. He will begin work at Newsweek this summer.

Jill Melchior, journalism and theater major at Laramie County Community College, Cheyenne, Wyo. – Melchior has written for the college publication Wingspan, The Wyoming Tribune-Eagle and the monthly Wyoming Business Report. She also has reported for Cheyenne radio stations KJJL-AM and KWY-AM.

Mary Specht, journalism major at American University, Washington, D.C. – Specht, a junior who is on track to graduate a year early, has written more than 100 articles for the university’s student newspaper, The Eagle, and interned at washingtonpost.com. She’ll be reporting this summer at USA Today.

Christine Won, print journalism major at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Won has written for the school newspaper, Daily Illini, and has a summer reporting internship at Daily Southtown, Tinley Park, Ill.

About the Foundation
Dedicated to excellence in journalism, the Scripps Howard Foundation is a leader in industry efforts in journalism education, scholarships, internships, literacy, minority recruitment/development and First Amendment causes. It is the philanthropic arm of The E.W. Scripps Company, a diverse media concern with interests in national lifestyle television networks, newspaper publishing, broadcast television, television retailing, interactive media and licensing and syndication.