Three Journalism students win scholarships to Asia

Patrick Morgan Wednesday,

October 25, 2006

Three Journalism students win scholarships to Asia

Three Massey University Journalism students have won scholarships to travel to Asia and write for English-language papers in the region. Lachy Forsyth and Bex Shannon will write for Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Post, and Kate Chapman will work at China’s Shanghai Daily for several months early next year.

“I am incredibly excited about it. I see it as an amazing opportunity to kick-start my career in journalism,” Mr Forsyth said. “I really hope I can get stuck into some good, hard news. To be able to do it in another country will be a fantastic learning experience, particularly in a country like Cambodia, which has such a rich culture and history.

“The opportunity for travel while over there is, of course, an added bonus! I believe the experience I can gain there will prove incredibly beneficial in understanding and reporting on Asian culture within New Zealand.”

The work placements are arranged by the Asia New Zealand Foundation, which also funds the students’ travel costs to the region. Asia New Zealand media adviser Charles Mabbett said the scholarships helped address the increasing need for more New Zealand journalists with Asian experience. “Levels of general knowledge about Asia within newsrooms are low. This is one way to address that, by developing a pool of up-and-coming journalists who have spent time working in Asian countries.”

The scholarships are available to Massey’s Graduate Diploma in Journalism students. Beginning with scholarships to the Phnom Penh Post in 1999, the scholarships were extended to the Shanghai Daily three years ago.

ENDS

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