Brittany Brown
OXFORD, Miss. – A University of Mississippi rising senior has been recognized for her commitment to journalism with a $10,000 scholarship.
Brittany Brown, a journalism major from Quitman, is the recipient of the Ed Bradley Scholarship from the Radio Television Digital News Foundation.
The award, named in honor of the late CBS News’ “60 Minutes” correspondent, is presented to an outstanding student of color. The foundation’s recipients represent the best and brightest in all areas of journalism and have demonstrated a commitment to informing the community.
“To be the recipient of RTDNF’s Ed Bradley Scholarship is an honor, not only because this lifts an extreme financial weight from my family’s shoulders, but also because Ed Bradley paved the way for journalists of color,” Brown said. “This generous scholarship allows me to complete my senior year at Ole Miss without any financial responsibility on my family and could possibly help offset some of the costs of graduate school.
“I am just happy to see my dedication to journalism paying off, and I am proud to represent the Meek School of Journalism and New Media.”
Brown is heavily involved in student media at Ole Miss, where she serves as assistant news editor for The Daily Mississippian and worked as a digital content producer for the student-led “NewsWatch Ole Miss” broadcast.
She will also be recognized at the Excellence in Journalism conference this fall in Baltimore. She was among 12 journalists awarded more than $31,000 in scholarships this year.
“Brittany Brown is an exceptional student in that she is right at home producing and analyzing traditional academic research and also a whiz at learning the latest media technologies, plus she’s able to put all those skills and attributes into practice as a journalist,” said Deb Wenger, assistant dean at the Meek School of Journalism and New Media.
“This is a young woman who is reliable, hard-working, takes critique well and who is always striving to be better. She’s also delightful to be around, and I don’t think I overstate things when I say she’s on her way to becoming the type of journalist our country and our world needs.”
The foundation has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships since 1970 to promote education. Recipients of these awards have pursued careers in journalism as reporters, anchors, news directors and White House speechwriters, among others.
Brown’s passion is investigative journalism. She is participating in the prestigious Carnegie-Knight News21 Fellowship program this summer at Arizona State University, which focuses on investigative reporting.
Brown is working alongside 37 other journalists across the U.S., Ireland and Canada to produce in-depth, national coverage of hate in America. Under the leadership of Len Downie, former executive editor of The Washington Post, and award-winning investigative journalist Jaquee Petchel, Brown is traveling around the country to report on hate groups and hate crimes in America.
“This program is providing the first opportunity to do investigative reporting, and this topic is very timely, especially in America today,” Brown said. “I am extremely appreciative of the opportunity to work with such talented journalists and editors, and I am getting the opportunity to travel to and report in 14 states this summer.”
She said the fellowship has been challenging, but rewarding.
“I believe this program is setting me on the right path for my career, and I am glad to be learning the skills of investigative journalism while still in my undergraduate years,” she said.
The final project from the fellowship will be completed in August, but ongoing news stories are published on https://hateinamerica.news21.com/blog/.
Brown plans to pursue a graduate degree to further her knowledge of the field and ultimately pursue a career in investigative journalism.