Kent journalism student wins Sky News scholarship

Georgia Fry, 20, from Gillingham, has won the coveted annual award, considered one of the most prestigious and valuable scholarships available to an undergraduate student of journalism in the UK.

The prize gives Georgia the opportunity to undertake a fully funded four-week work placement at Sky News, with the scholarship also paying a cash award of £3,500.

The Sky News Bob Friend Memorial Scholarship began in 2009 and is a special agreement between Sky News, the University of Kent and the Friend family to provide a lasting memorial to the life and career of Bob Friend - the original face of Sky News and a long-standing, well-respected BBC journalist before that.

The scholarship is awarded to the student who the panel believe shows the most academic and professional merit and future potential, chosen by Sky News, the Friend family and the Centre for Journalism.

Georgia Fry said: I am over the moon that I have won the Sky News Bob Friend Scholarship, and very excited at the prospect of working with the team at Sky News HQ, which I enjoyed visiting in January. The application process was challenging but very rewarding, and I cant wait to get stuck into my four-week work experience placement this summer.'

Professor Tim Luckhurst, Head of the Centre for Journalism at the University of Kent's Medway campus, said: Competition for the scholarship is always intense; this year it was ferocious. Georgia has done brilliantly to win against such formidable competition from other students. Everyone in the Centre is proud of her. I am sure she will be a superb ambassador for the university, the Centre and Sky News.'

The annual scholarship will be presented to Georgia Fry by Neil Dunwoodie, Executive Producer Sky News, at the 2013 Bob Friend Memorial Lecture.

Neil Dunwoodie said: Georgia was a very impressive candidate. During the interview she showed an excellent grasp of how we handle breaking news across all of the Sky News platforms. She also displayed a confidence and a maturity of approach which I predict will see her do very well when she spends a month at the Sky News Centre in the summer.'

The 2013 Bob Friend Memorial Lecture given by Stephanie Flanders, Economics Editor at the BBC, will take place on Thursday 28 February 2013. The lecture titled: Lessons of the Global Financial Crisis for Economists and Economic Journalists' will be held in the Pilkington Lecture Theatre at the University of Kent's Medway Campus at 7pm.

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LINK:	http://skynews.skypressoffice.co.uk/press-releases/items/2013-02/3024/...
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