The newest recipient of the School of Journalism's largest scholarship has a familiar ring to his name. That's because freshman Tyler King is the brother of last year's Druck Scholarship winner, sophomore Kyla King.

"Obviously, our parents are thrilled," said Kyla of the news that there was yet another budding journalist in the King household. "Tyler had some pretty tough competition, so we were really surprised."

The J.M. Druck Scholarship, which was introduced just last year, totals $15,000 per year. Druck, who died last December, was publisher and owner of the Pharos-Tribune and the Logansport Press in Logansport, Ind. He did not attend IU, but designated a $500,000 grant from the Howard Charitable Foundation to the School of Journalism because he was impressed by its strong training program for young journalists. Preference for the award is first given to high school seniors from Cass County, and then to those from neighboring counties.

"The Druck Scholarship is special because it's the only School of Journalism scholarship that offers full tuition, room, board and some expense money for all four years at the university," said professor Jack Dvorak, a member of the scholarship committee.

Neither of the King siblings had much experience with journalism in high school, given that their small school in Cass County did not even have a newspaper. Kyla took pictures for the yearbook and Tyler courses in mass media, but IU has provided them with their first real exposure to journalism.

All applicants are required to write essays to demonstrate their writing skills and knowledge of the current state of the field. Tyler chose to write his essay about the way that journalism and entertainment are merging, as seen through programs like the Daily Show and those found on ESPN.

Dvorak recalled the strength of Tyler's application.

"The scholarship committee rated each of the Druck applicants, and Tyler's was the one that surfaced as the top choice," he said. "He had very fine grades, a good number of extracurricular activities and successes, and some solid media experience while in high school." He also noted that while some members of the selection committee knew that Tyler was Kyla's brother, it was the strength of his application that impressed the committee.

Kyla came into the program interested in producing a show for teens about current events. She still doesn't know exactly what she wants to do in journalism, but this summer she expanded her skills with an internship in sales and marketing. She has also written a number of articles for IDS and the Bloomington Alternative.

"I was really intimidated at first because I had no journalism background, but now I've gotten a lot of confidence and am really enjoying it," she said. "I know that whatever I end up doing, I will definitely use my journalism background."

Tyler is excited about attending the journalism school, but like most freshmen, he has selected a course load that encompasses a diverse set of interests. Outside of his introductory journalism courses, he is also taking physics, Chinese and a physical education course called Chi Gong. Tyler has a twin brother who is also attending IU this semester.

Beyond the money that Tyler and Kyla receive each year, the Druck Scholarship offers other perks. Kyla described the award banquets and luncheons, as well as the opportunity to get to know the deans at the School of Journalism. One of Druck's daughters lives in Bloomington and has met with Kyla to check on her progress and see how she was doing.


"You get close contact to people that most undergraduates probably wouldn't normally get to know," Kyla said.