In a continued effort to improve the state of journalism in New Mexico—and to serve our members—the Rio Grande Chapter of SPJ has set aside $500 for scholarships.
Scholarships for what?
That’s what we want you to tell us.
Have you always wanted to participate in online training at Poynter, but been reluctant to shell out the fee? Is there an upcoming SPJ event or training you’d like to attend and your employer is only offering to pay for the training—but not transportation? How about another local training, or a class at one of the state’s colleges or universities that would benefit your reporting?
There are tons of training opportunities out there—and we want to help our members take advantage of them.
In a short letter, let us know:
-Who you are and where you work (or where your work is published),
-Very specifically, what it is you want to do (sign up for a webinar or attend a training, or for the purpose of attending a conference or training: book a flight, rent a car, pay for gas, pay for a hotel room, etc.),
-How much it’s going to cost, and when you’re planning to do it.
We also want to know how that particular webinar, class, conference, or training session is going to benefit your reporting—and contribute to the state of journalism in New Mexico.
Please forward your letter to President Julie Ann Grimm at jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com before May 6. We’ll be evaluating those letters and making decisions at our May 8 board meeting.
A few notes:
-Your SPJ membership must be current as of May 6. This scholarship opportunity is for members only. If you need to renew, you can do so online: http://www.spj.org/join.asp
-Board members are not eligible to apply.
-The training, class, conference, etc. must be completed by the end of 2012.
-Scholarship recipients will be reimbursed once registered for the course or training. (You will submit your receipts to us and we’ll reimburse you ASAP—or in some instances, the organization may accept direct payment from us.)
-We’re accepting requests for rewards up to $500. You may request any amount below that, however. (For instance, the cost of Poynter’s online trainings vary.) The board may give one or several grants, so please, ask only for what you need.
Here are some ideas, just in case you need them:
Poynter training: http://about.poynter.org/training
SPJ Excellence in Journalism conference, Sept. 20-22 in Ft. Lauderdale: http://excellenceinjournalism.org/
