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2008 scholar winners
The American Copy Editors Society has selected five winners of its 2007 scholarships: Jennifer Amur, a senior at the University of Missouri; Wendy Lyons, a senior at Oakland University in Michigan; Mark Noack, a graduate student at the University of Oregon; Dianne Smith, a senior at the University of Kansas, and Shanxi Upsdell, also a senior at Kansas. As the top candidate among the applicants, Upsdell was named the Aubespin scholar. The scholarship is named for Merv Aubespin, the former Louisville Courier-Journal editor who is considered the "godfather" of ACES. As the Aubespin scholar, Upsdell receives $2,500. The other winners each receive $1,000. In addition, all winners get free registration to the Denver conference. The winners were selected using these criteria:
Upsdell, the judges decided, is the kind of young copy editor the industry needs: She is intelligent, creative, analytical and a good writer. She craves to learn about her craft and about its future. Randy Evans, an assistant managing editor at the Des Moines Register, where Shanxi was a news copy desk intern, called her one of the best he's ever encountered. At the Register, Shanxi quickly became a valued member of the copy desk. Her enthusiasm was obvious. She handled 1A stories with ease. She sought out answers to questions she had in stories. She attended every training session she could, even if it didn't pertain to copy editing. She spent time with the online department, too, to learn more about the Web site and how the Register had transformed from a newsroom to a 24-7 information center. "Despite the challenges facing the journalism industry," Upsdell wrote in her essay, "I believe critical thinking skills and a respect for fair and accurate communication are always required. Copy editing allows me to apply those skills to any audience, whether in print or online." Amur impressed the judges with an eloquent essay in which she wrote about visiting Turkey, not only because it is her father's homeland, but because she wanted to see the city in which an Armenian journalist was killed because of what he wrote. She then tied it into her chosen profession, writing, "Free, uninhibited journalism is a cornerstone of democracy, and its very existence is absolutely crucial to the way we live, both individually and as a society. Copy editing is a part that is just as crucial, just as essential, to journalism as journalism is to people's rights." Last year, Amur was a Dow Jones copy desk intern at the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Jessica Fleming, presentation hub team leader at the Pioneer Press, said, "We were all immediately impressed by Jennifer's intelligence and work ethic." Amur was at the end of her internship when the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge occurred. Amur, Fleming says, "jumped right in, moving copy like a pro and writing headlines that our news editors were happy to leave unchanged." Lyons impressed the judges with her academic achievements and a thoughtful essay that demonstrated a passion for our craft and a sensitivity to multicultural and gender issues in editing. Her headlines also were among the very best from this year's candidates. An adviser to the Oakland University student newspaper described Lyons as "inspirational" and "refreshingly unconventional," adding: "I sleep better on publication night knowing that Ms. Lyons' red marking pen has graced the proofs of the reporters' stories." A news editor at the Oakland Press, where Wendy serves as a copy editing intern, praised her "knack for handling tricky headlines on editorials and columns" and described her as an asset to the profession. Noack impressed the judges with his commitment to editing and his interest in multimedia. He wrote eye-catching headlines that would be at home in any medium. His editing sample detailed how he worked with a news editor on deadline to resolve a problem with numbers, ensuring that an otherwise solid story didn't generate a correction. Bertil Peterson, Noack's supervisor during his Dow Jones internship at The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., noted Noack's penchant for asking good questions, his quest for feedback and his initiative. ÒMark collaborated with a graphics intern to produce a full-page look at the potential for wind-power generation in the Northwest,Ó Peterson wrote. John Russial, one of Noack’s professors at Oregon, wrote that Noack has developed skills in television and other media to keep up with the changing media landscape. Smith earned high praise comes from Russell Gray, managing editor of The Kansas City Business Journal, where Smith interned in 2007. "The highest compliment I can pay Dianne Smith about her commitment to professional copy editing is that I would hire her tomorrow if I could." Gray's letter of recommendation said Smith, a senior at the University of Kansas, was the paper's first copy editing intern and did a brilliant job. Smith's application showed her enthusiasm and dedication to copy editing. She is copy chief at her college paper, and in her essay, said she encourages "my copy editors to talk to the reporters as much as possible because that is the best way to get things done." Smith also interned during winter break at her local paper, The Kansas City Star, for credit. Amanda Wilkins, news copy chief of The Star, called Smith sharp, easy to work with and impressive. The winners were selected from a group of 21 applicants, judged by five professional copy editors. The judges were Suzanne Behnke of the Des Moines Register; Lourdes Fernandez of Newsday; Henry Fuhrmann of the Los Angeles Times; Pam Spencer of the Kansas City Star; and Doris Truong of the Washington Post. The judges' recommendations were approved by the board of the ACES Education Foundation. The 2007 scholarships bring the total awarded to 39 since 1999. Applications available
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