Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) has introduced a new scholarship that will offer students the opportunity to work in four of Australia’s leading radio newsrooms.
The Brian White Scholarship offers aspiring journalists an eight-week paid work attachment, consisting of two weeks each at Macquarie Media, Southern Cross Austereo, Australian Radio Network and NOVA Entertainment.
CRA chief executive Joan Warner said the scholarship aims to help students with a passion for radio news to develop their skills and transition out of study into the commercial radio industry.
“The program aims to give final-year students or recent graduates an opportunity to work alongside senior radio journalists and gain first-hand experience of how news is sourced and broadcast,” she said.
The scholarship is named after legendary radio broadcaster Brian White – commercial radio’s first cadet journalist – who went on to cover wars in Vietnam and the Middle East, authored a book on politics and the media, served as general manager of 3AW in Melbourne and chaired the Fitzroy Football Club.
Entries for the scholarship are open now until Friday 13 April, and will be judged by an industry panel. Ten finalists will be invited to attend a one-day workshop in Sydney, where they will meet with commercial radio news directors to gain insights and receive feedback on their news presenting style and delivery.
The winner of the scholarship can choose to serve their work placement – which will commence in June – in either Sydney or Melbourne, with travel and accommodation included if they live outside these cities.
