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| Photo by James Brosher |
| Junior Chip Cutter is headed to an IBJ internship this summer and will have $4,000 for his expenses next year, thanks to the Reynolds scholarship. |
Cutter is one of eight business journalism students across the nation to receive a Reynolds Business Scholarship. The award includes $4,000 for the 2008-09 school year and, in Cutter’s case, an internship at the Indianapolis Business Journal this summer.
The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, located at Arizona State University’s Cronkite School, serves working journalists through its workshops and seminars. This is the first year the organization has sponsored a scholarship program for college students.
To Cutter, blending business with reporting is natural.
“Money affects everything we do, and business journalism gets to that,” Cutter said.
As a freshman, Cutter wasn’t headed for journalism. A friend who was IDS business editor at the time invited Cutter to write a story for the newspaper. To his surprise, Cutter really enjoyed the process and realized that journalism and business could join to offer all the elements of a great story.
Soon, Cutter decided to major in journalism and minor in business. As IDS general assignments editor last semester and as a reporter now, Cutter works on stories about entrepreneurship in a college town. After all, “everyone wants to be the next big thing, the next Google,” he said.
Nancy Comiskey, interim publisher of the IDS, nominated Cutter for the scholarship because she knew of his interest in business reporting and his ability to find fresh story angles. He is simply an excellent young journalist, she said, and is “one of the strongest idea generators I’ve ever worked with.”
After being nominated by a faculty member, applicants had to shine on their own by writing a theme about business reporting and submitting clips of their work.
Comiskey said this honor is not just an achievement for Cutter but for IU.
“Anytime we get this type of recognition, it benefits not only the student who wins, but the entire department, school and IDS,” she said.
Cutter is more than ready to begin a professional career in the promising area of business journalism.
“It’s one of the few areas of journalism that’s growing,” he said. “I think there is a great need for it.”
To learn more about the organization or to see a list of winners, check out the Reynolds Web site.
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