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NEWS RELEASE

09-02-03

Contacts:
Mark Witherspoon, Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication,
(515) 294-4815
David Gieseke, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, (515) 294-7742
Kevin Brown, News Service, (515) 294-8986

ISU GREENLEE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION SENIOR AWARDED SEMESTER IN WASHINGTON

AMES, Iowa -- Jessica Anderson, a senior in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University, has been chosen as one of six students who will attend the Scripps Howard Foundation's Semester in Washington program this fall. Anderson is from Eagan, Minn.

The Semester in Washington program was created by the Scripps Howard Foundation in 1998. Students get hands-on reporting and editing experience while working for the Scripps Howard Foundation Wire (www.shfwire.com). They also take freelance assignments, and their stories are made available to news organizations around the country.

"I am very excited to have the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C., and work for such a large and well-known organization," said Anderson, who has a print emphasis within the Greenlee School. "I believe this experience will present a number of new and exciting challenges."

Jody Beck, director of the Semester in Washington program since June, said she was impressed with Anderson's work on the Iowa State Daily and the stories she did during her internship at the Harlan (Iowa) Tribune and News Advertiser.

Another reason Anderson was chosen was because of her longtime interest in becoming a journalist.

"In her essay, she talked about becoming interested in journalism while she was sitting on her grandfather's knee," Beck said.

As director of the Semester in Washington program, Beck works directly with the students, giving them story assignments, working with them on story development and finding outlets for their work. She also presents a weekly "Press and Politics" seminar.

Students work out of an office adjacent to the Scripps Howard News Service Washington bureau. Housing is provided by the foundation and each student receives a stipend to cover other living expenses while in Washington.

Anderson said she hopes to enhance her writing skills while working with some of the best reporters in the country.

"This internship will allow me to learn more about politics and political reporting as well as many of the other aspects of journalism," Anderson said. "It will allow me to meet many influential people and write about a number of topics that are difficult to cover from Iowa."

Dedicated to excellence in journalism, the Scripps Howard Foundation, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a leader in industry efforts in journalism education, scholarships, internships, literacy, minority recruitment/development and First Amendment causes.

Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, highlighted the growing opportunities for Greenlee students with the new relationship between the Scripps Foundation and ISU.

Bugeja, former associate director of the E.W. Scripps Journalism School at Ohio University, Athens, added that he looks forward to building a strong working relationship between the Greenlee School and the Scripps Foundation.

"I admire the foundation's educational mission and steadfast commitment to the First Amendment. Both concepts--education and free speech--are needed in a republic that elects officials to represent the people," said Bugeja.

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