Taylor among nine college students
nationally named Howard fellow
MURFREESBORO,
Tenn. — MTSU award-winning student journalist Sarah Grace Taylor made her
way to Japan in recent weeks after being chosen as one of nine winners of the
Roy W. Howard National Collegiate Reporting Competition.
The Old
Hickory, Tennessee, native returned home May 20 from the eight-day journalism
study tour to Japan, an expenses-paid trip that gave the students an
opportunity to experience a different environment than they're used to in the
United States.
"I
learned more about the Japanese culture, their news media and the nature of
reporting abroad than I could have even imagined," said Taylor, who is
former editor-in-chief of the student news magazine MTSU Sidelines and a senior
in the School of Journalism in the College of Media and Entertainment.
While in
Japan, Taylor and the other winners toured the Tokyo office of Bloomberg, the
international market and financial software and media company headquartered in
New York, and the Mainichi Broadcasting Systems office in Osaka, Japan. She
said that the cultural adventure allowed her to identify the importance of both
studying abroad and a free press.
"We
saw the similarities and differences between local and regional Japanese media
outlets and international media outlets with foreign journalists covering the
area," she said.
Her
views on American journalism involve use of the term "watchdog," and
she mentioned that American journalism is more transparency oriented and
aggressive.
"I
will certainly be more open to cultural and foreign reporting as I go forward
with my career, and I am very thankful to Scripps Howard for the
opportunity," she said.
The
group of winners mixed business and pleasure some of the days they were in
Osaka. They toured several historical landmarks, including the Golden
Pavilion, the Ryoan-ji Temple, and rock gardens in Kyoto. One of
the "most significant" landmarks they visited, Taylor said, was the
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and World War II atomic bomb site.
Hiroshima
was the first city in world history to be devastated by the atomic bomb.
"Hiroshima
was a very solemn experience, but touring the museum and talking with the
native volunteers was an amazing learning experience in peace, forgiveness and
the relationship between our two nations," she said.
This
marks the 12th year that the Scripps Howard Foundation has sent its National
Collegiate Reporting Competition winners on the study tour.
Taylor’s
fellow winners included Jack Evans of Indiana University, Miela Fetaw of the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Ala’a Ibrahim of The University of Texas at
Austin, Stephanie Murray of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Nishant
Mohan of the University of Idaho, Olivia Richard of Arizona State University,
Emily Scott of Temple University and Sayra Trejo of Dominican University of
California.
Joseph
Coleman, the Roy W. Howard Professor of Practice at Indiana University’s Media
School, led this year’s trip. He is the former Associated Press bureau chief in
Tokyo and teaches a reporting class that takes students from Indiana University
on trips similar to the student winners’ visit.
“These
student journalists — among the best in the country — bring a powerful mix of
talents and perspectives to our program,” Coleman said.
The
competition, which is conducted in cooperation with Indiana University, was
established in 1984 to honor the late journalist Howard, who led Scripps Howard
Newspapers from 1922 to 1953 after his 1912-1920 career at United Press.
For more
information about MTSU's College of Media and Entertainment, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/media/.
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