Michael Wright - Journalism Fellowship Inaugural Winner

Michael Wright - Journalism Fellowship Inaugural Winner

The inaugural winner of the Peter M Acland Foundation Journalism Fellowship is Michael Wright, a senior reporter at The Press, Christchurch.

Mr Wright will spend three months in the features department of the Tampa Bay Times in St Petersburg, Florida, a daily newspaper which has won 12 Pulitzer Prizes including two in 2016 for exposing neglect in the state-run mental health system and rampant inequities in schools. It is owned by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.

The Fellowship enables a New Zealand journalist to work overseas at a news organisation of international repute at no cost to their employer or host by covering their salary, travel and accommodation. On their return, they are expected to share the knowledge and skills acquired with their colleagues and the wider industry.

Mr Wright, who has previously worked overseas at the Calgary Herald, Canada, said, “ It is a great opportunity to go a paper with such a track record and reputation in longer form journalism.

He said it was hard to imagine how such an experience would have been possible without the fellowship. He will be accompanied by his wife and 18-month old son.

The Fellowship recognises the career of the late Peter Acland as a journalist and his passion for the profession. The trustees of the Peter M Acland Foundation noted that he was a Cantabrian, educated at Christ’s College and Canterbury University, who began his journalism career at the Christchurch Star.

To contact the foundation go to http://www.peter-m-acland-foundation.org/

ENDS

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