FPA HONORS 2010 SCHOLARSHIP AWARD WINNERS

By Dina Pinos
It was a night to remember. This year’s annual gathering of the FPA Scholarship Fund Annual Awards Reception held at the elegant Roosevelt Hotel was indeed a night to remember! Onset by the warmer weather, spring in New York is always a special occasion with nightly festivities in most of the city’s hotels; commemorations, galas, university graduations and farewells.

This year’s reception was held at the midtown hidden gem, the Roosevelt Hotel where five scholarships were awarded to outstanding foreign students enrolled at graduate schools of journalism in the United States. Bill Keller, the New York Times Executive Editor was the keynote speaker addressing a gathering of over 200 guests consisting of FPA members, supporters of the Scholarship Fund, university deans and faculty members as well as two past winners.

Prior to the dinner, guests mingled on the Terrace of the Hotel reminiscent of traditional European flair with its painted vaulted ceilings and grand staircases. Cocktails and canapés were served as we gathered to mingle with each other, though most importantly, to meet the five scholarship awardees who were easily identified donning their white rose. Once inside the grand dining area, guests were awed by the elegant décor of the table settings offset by a gorgeous flower arrangement on each table. A lucky winner at each table was invited to take the basket of flowers home.

The camaraderie and excitement of the evening permeated the gathering of guests confirming that the Annual Awards Reception is certainly the highlight of the Foreign Press Association.
The FPA Scholarship Fund was initiated in 1993 on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Foreign Press Association. Since then, over 100 scholarships have been awarded to foreign students who then either return to their countries of origin, remain in the United States or travel to other lands in the pursuit of their journalistic dreams.

Suzanne Adams, this being her 17th Awards reception, is the force behind the evening’s fund-raising for the FPA Scholarship Fund. She addressed the attendees, graciously thanking the sponsors and the FPA Scholarship Awards Selection Committee. As the evening proceeded with the speeches from the scholarship awardees, university faculty, The New York Times’ Bill Keller, it certainly became clear that the quote, “No profession in the modern world is as important as that of a journalist.”
First Prize was awarded to Clair MacDougall, from Melbourne, Australia. Prior to studying journalism at Columbia

University, she lived in New Delhi, India where she worked as an interning reporter at the India Express. She also worked as an editor at an agricultural weekly in Australia’s Wagga Wagga.
Claire stated, “I originally wanted to come study in the United States which is the birthplace of modern journalism; a country where democracy and journalism are fused together, where journalists and their noble profession can also change the world. And despite the changing media landscape with the new technologies, the core values of journalism remain the same.” She plans to travel and workin West Africa as a foreign correspondent with her FPA funds. She hopes to draw media attention to that part of the world and change the way western audiences perceive it.

Second Prizes were awarded to Oyvind Gustavsen and Shreeya Sinha.
At 16 years of age, Norwegian Oyvind Gustavsen was hired by the national daily paper, Vart Land, their youngest employee in their news department. Serving in the Norwegian Army, he was appointed to the Press and Information Office at NATO’s Joint Warfare Center dealing with the latest news from Kosovo. During his internship as a correspondent for the Norwegian daily Dagen, he was based in Jerusalem, covering the so-called Second Intifada.

Although he was delayed in Norway due to the Icelandic volcano eruption, he was on the ball, sending drafts to make sure that he graduates. Oyvind said, “I have always had a curiosity for everything that is different
- exploring indigenous communities from around the world, including political activism in native America today. And I will continue to go off the beaten path again to Siberia to visit the rural areas of the most isolated people in the world today to see how their life has changed.” We were delighted to welcome Oyvind’s parents.

Shreeya Sinha, a multimedia journalist, raised in India, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Vietnam, and Bangladesh has interned at CNN International Business Unit, where she helped produce a daily show, World Business Today. She uses social media platforms to report and raise awareness for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting to report psychological trauma in gangs in Harlem and the Bronx.

“I would like to give journalism a sense of idealism by covering stories that shed light on media’s dark stories. With my FPA award, I intend to go back to India to work with Media Storm on the issue of violence against women. There are 62 million missing women in India, victims of domestic and social abuse. Where are they?” She would also like to start a nonprofit organization and investigate the story of India’s partition.
Third Prizes were awarded to Priti Patnaik and Daria Solovieva.

Priti Patnaik, a business journalist with the Economic Times from New Delhi enrolled in New York University’s Business and Economic Reporting Program to sharpen her financial writing skills. She has since interned at Breaking Views and The American Lawyer reporting on bankruptcy and anti-trust. Earlier this year, she worked at Debtwire, part of the Financial Times Group which provided great exposure to niche reporting on distressed debt.

Priti stated, “I am very excited to be a journalist now in these more modern times. As an economic journalist in New Delhi, stories needed to be backed by numbers and statistics. We are now in an exciting transition of how to influence the politics of the information flow. Will we become slaves in this new technology or better journalists?” It was a pleasure to greet her parents.

Daria Solovieva was born in Russia and since 2005 has written on Russian and international affairs for the World Politics Review, Russia Profile, and Economist magazines. She has traveled to Mogadishu to cover Somalia’s humanitarian conflict for the Economist. In 2008 she joined the Wall Street Journal bureau in Moscow, and covered the ever changing country.

Daria said, “I am very excited about receiving this award. This summer I will be interning at Bloomberg News and then I will be going to the Middle East to cover the news in this volatile region.
Our distinguished keynote speaker, Executive Editor of the New York Times, Bill Keller, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for his reporting on the breakup of the former Soviet Union. He delivered a very engaging speech regarding the state of journalism today. He addressed the question, “Why does journalism matter?”
He referred to himself as an optimist in the world of journalism where even at his own paper, the Web site is booming. They are doing some hiring, and advertising sales are up. Signs suggest that newspapers can survive. He assured the audience, “The New York Times is not going away soon.”

Mr. Keller decided to read an amusing letter to the audience that he decided to write to his successor, advising him about the changing world of journalism. He would leave this letter in his desk, along with a bottle a whiskey. Listing a number of pertinent lessons in the letter here are a few to remember –

First, in this job, be humble about who gets to be called a journalist. Freedom of the press belongs to anyone who has the internet. This is called the democratization of journalism and the new social media partnership is keeping news stories alive.

Second, as there is hardly any place that is off the grid anymore, never put anything in an email that you might not want to be on Gawker.com.

And third, as heads-up advice to all writers, who are paid or not, “You can cover life if you have lived it!” The evening came to an end as photos were taken and guests and awardees mingled among old and new friends.

FPA Scholarship Dinner 2010 Photos

Bill Keller

Bill Keller with Suzanne Adams

Scholarship Winners with Roberto Socas, Bill Keller, Suzanne Adams and Alan Capper

CLAIR MAC DOUGALL
FIRST PRIZE
Like many young journalists, I have had a love-hate relationship with words for most of my life. But throughout my travels in South Asia and the Middle East I began to understand the power of words and their relationship to democracy and freedom. It was during my travels through countries full of poverty and political repression that I decided I wanted to use words to reflect truth and reality and take up the wonderful burden of being a reporter.
Born in Melbourne, Australia, I graduated with first-class Honors in political theory at Monash University in 2007 and moved to Delhi to work as an interning reporter at the Indian Express. I then worked as an editor of an agricultural weekly in an Australian town called Wagga Wagga, before coming to New York to study journalism at Columbia. After graduating I hope to work as a foreign correspondent in Africa.

OYVIND GUSTAVSEN
SECOND PRIZE
From Norway he received his first newspaper job as a 16 year-old. Hired by the national daily paper, Vart Land, he worked afternoons and evenings sorting out news, updating the photo archive and writing short stories. He was the youngest employee in their news department.
While serving in the Norwegian Army, he was appointed to the Press and Information Office at NATO’s Joint Warfare Center. Facilitating press conferences and updating journalists with the latest news from the Kosovo operations gave him a taste of international reporting.
He took a deeper dive into foreign news during his internship in the Middle East as a correspondent for the Norwegian daily Dagen. Based in Jerusalem, he travelled to Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan covering the so-called Second Intifada.
Currently completing his M.A. in political journalism at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, Oyvind has explored political movements within Native American communities. Upon graduation, he hopes to continue to create awareness of under reported issues by telling stories that pierce both the heart and the mind of his readers.

SHREEYA SINHA
SECOND PRIZE
Shreeya is a multimedia journalist based in New York. She’s investigated oil revenue flows in developing countries, covered the legal aid crisis in New York and reported on psychological trauma in gangs.
She also uses social media platforms to report and raise awareness about the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting and CNN International’s Business Unit, where she also helps produce a daily show, World Business Today. Prior to joining the team Shreeya interned at CNBC-TV18 and CNNIBN in India. She was raised in India, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, before studying in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas, Boston, and New York.
She holds a B.A. from Brandeis University. That year The Carter Center funded Shreeya and her peers to examine socioeconomic conditions in the West Bank and Israel. Now at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Shreeya uses multimedia to report in Harlem and the Bronx. She’s set to graduate in May and hopes to continue her lifelong passion to give a voice to the voiceless and shed light on media dark issues.

PRITI PATNAIK
THIRD PRIZE
I am a business journalist from New Delhi and a student at New York University’s Business and Economic Reporting program.
I have worked in India for five years covering government finances and banking. I began reporting in 2004 for the Business Standard, a financial daily. A year later, The Economic Times, India's largest selling business daily, hired me to cover policy and regulation of the financial services.
Though it was enriching, I constantly wanted to improve my understanding of finance, since I was originally a science student with a background in microbiology and genetics. In September 2008, I enrolled into NYU's cross-disciplinary master’s program.
Last year I spent a few months at Breaking Views learning to write financial commentary. Last summer, I interned at The American Lawyer reporting on bankruptcy and anti-trust. Earlier this year, I worked at Debtwire, part of the Financial Times Group which provided great exposure to niche reporting on distressed debt.

DARIA SOLOVIEVA
THIRD PRIZE
Daria Solovieva was born in Russia. Daria holds a BA degree in International
Relations from Bard College in Annanandale-on-Hudson, NY. Since 2005 she has written on Russian and international affairs for the World Politics Review, Russia Profile, and Economist magazines. She has traveled to Mogadisho to cover Somalia’s humanitarian conflict for the Economist. And in 2008 she joined the Wall Street Journal bureau in Moscow. Daria is currently completing an MA degree in business reporting from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and will be joining Bloomberg News in the summer.