Earlier this year, Missouri Press Foundation, in partnership with the Missouri School of Journalism and Reynolds Journalism Institute, announced the all-new Rural Missouri Newspaper Scholarship. A deadline of Jan. 31, 2022, has been set for the first applications to be submitted for consideration for the first year of funding, awarded for the 2022-23 academic year.
A need-based award, the Rural Missouri Newspaper Scholarship will provide up to $40,000 for qualifying students attending the Missouri School of Journalism for four years. Students chosen for the program must be pursuing a degree in journalism or strategic communication, and upon graduation students receiving the scholarship will be expected to work for a rural Missouri newspaper for at least two years.
Missouri Press needs your help to spread the word about the Rural Missouri Newspaper Scholarship and let potential applicants in your communities know about these scholarship funds. Please consider publicizing information about the scholarship in your own newspaper’s pages or special sections, particularly those related to schools and school activities in your communities.
If you haven’t already, provide information about the scholarship to your high schools’ journalism programs and make sure the faculty advisors know about the Rural Missouri Newspaper Scholarship.
Also, reach out to youth organization leaders in your community and let them know about the scholarship directly. Students participating in Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Future Farmers of America (FFA), 4-H and Scouts programs are great potential prospects for future rural Missouri newspaper journalists.
Qualification is determined through the federal FAFSA program. Additional funding opportunities include a $5,000 summer fellowship through the Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) and a further $1,200 from RJI’s Potter Digital Ambassador Program.
An application for the Rural Missouri Newspaper Scholarship can be found on the Missouri Press Association website, www.mopress.com.
Please contact Missouri Press Executive Director Mark Maassen with any questions at (573) 449-4167, ext. 308, or mmaassen@mopress.com.
