Commercial Radio Australia is now accepting applications for the 2021 Brian White Scholarship. The scholarship awards a graduating university student with an eight-week paid internship at four of Australia’s leading radio newsrooms.
Final year broadcast, media, communications and journalism students and recent graduates can submit their applications through May 7.
The scholarship is designed to help talented aspiring broadcast journalists gain a foothold in the industry through on-the-job experience working with the news teams at Australian Radio Network, Nine Radio, Nova Entertainment and Southern Cross Austereo.
“The Brian White Scholarship is a wonderful opportunity for students or recent graduates to experience the fast-paced world of live radio and help produce the news and updates broadcast to millions of Australians every day,” said Joan Warner, chief executive officer of CRA.
Entries are judged by a panel of commercial radio news directors. Ten finalists will attend a one-day workshop with the news directors in Sydney, where they will work through a range of news tasks and develop their on-air presenting skills. The scholarship recipient will be selected from the finalists and announced in June.
The radio industry work placement involves two weeks at each newsroom in either Sydney or Melbourne.
The scholarship program is in its fifth year. Last year’s winner, Zac de Silva from Macquarie University, will start his internship this month, while the inaugural winner, Rachel Storer, from Newcastle University, now works as a journalist in Melbourne for Australian Radio Network. Storer was recently named in Radio Today’s 30 Under 30 Awards in the news category.
The scholarship is named after radio broadcaster Brian White, who was Australia’s first commercial radio cadet journalist in 1953. He became a dominant figure in radio for more than three decades and was a pioneer of the newstalk format.