Success for Canterbury journalism graduate

Success for Canterbury journalism graduate

University of Canterbury journalism graduate Jolene Williams has won the postgraduate feature writing award in the Ossies, an annual competition for journalism students in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

The former Marlborough Girls’ College student and current Hastings resident’s winning entry was a profile of promising young poet Amy Brown published in Fairfax Media’s weekly magazine Your Weekend.

The judge, editor of Money Magazine Pamela Walkley, commented: "I have never heard of Amy Brown but when I finished reading Jolene Williams’ feature on her I felt I knew her really well. In a constrained space Williams drew a detailed picture, alive with detail that encapsulated the essence of her subject. The writing was tight with good use of quotes, insights and reflections."

Head of the School of Social and Political Sciences and Journalism Programme Co-ordinator, Associate Professor Jim Tully, said Jolene – who is now a reporter at the Hawke’s Bay Today newspaper - was one of the most gifted writers he had taught and she was destined for a remarkable career in magazines.

He said Canterbury journalism students had won the feature writing section of the Ossies a number of times.

Twenty-seven university journalism schools in Australia participated in the Ossies with four schools from New Zealand also taking part.

The Ossies are organised by the Journalism Education Association of Australia.

ENDS

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