RTNDF Awards Scholarships

TORONTO, July 2 /CNW/ - The Radio Television News Directors Foundation
has presented five outstanding Broadcast Journalism students with over $12,000
in scholarships. The scholarships were presented to the students during the
recent RTNDA Canada conference in Ottawa.
Canadore College's Courtney Rae Heels captured two prizes, the RTNDF
Scholarship for second year, third year and graduate students, and the RTNDA
George Clark Scholarship for the best overall entry. Heels' submission was a
television report on the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a story the judges said
was very timely, well presented, with relevant interviews.
The awards ceremony was marked by the presentation of a new award for
business journalism, the BNN/Jim O'Connell Scholarship. The scholarship is
named in memory of Business News Network anchor and journalist Jim O'Connell,
who died last year at age 48. Presenting the first scholarship was O'Connell's
widow, Dr. Lisa Ramshaw. Winning the scholarship was Elyse Anne Marie Skura of
Fanshawe College. For her submission, Skura filed a radio report which
explored the issue of whether environmental and economic concerns can
co-exist. She interviewed TD Financial Chief Economist Don Drummond, who spoke
to Economic students at the University of Western Ontario.
Fellow Fanshawe student Adam Hill captured the Barbara Frum/CBC
Scholarship for interviewing. Hill submitted a radio interview he did with a
student at Virginia Tech, just hours after April 17, 2007 shootings at the
university which left more than 30 people dead.
Chris Woo MacLean of Concordia University got the nod as winner of the
The Canadian Press/Eric Murray Scholarship for Visible Minorities. MacLean's
television report looked at how diesel cars can be converted to operate on
vegetable oil.
The Marketwire Scholarship for the best entry from a first year student
was awarded to Lusine Harutyunyan of Mount Royal College. Lusine submitted a
radio feature on how immigrant artists are adjusting to their new life in
Calgary.

The RTNDF was established by the RTNDA in 1978 to offer financial
assistance to students in Canada. Each year, six scholarships will be awarded
to Canadian students. To date, the RTNDF has awarded scholarships valued at
more than $221,500.