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School of Journalism and New Media
University of Mississippi

Bracey Harris selected for national journalism fellowships

Posted on: February 5th, 2014 by

Bracey HarrisMeek School journalism senior Bracey Harris has been awarded two prestigious national journalism fellowships this semester: The New York Times Student Journalism Institute and the CBC-UNC Diversity Fellowship. Both programs provide hands-on training from some of the best journalists in the country.

In March, Harris heads to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill for an intensive workshop led by UNC journalism faculty and professionals at Capitol Broadcasting Company’s WRAL-TV in Raleigh. The CBC-UNC program is a competitive fellowship for only 12 top students from across the country. The program is geared toward seniors and graduate students finishing their programs and pursuing careers as producers, reporters, photojournalists and Web editors.

In late May, Harris travels to Dillard University for the New York Times institute. Students work as journalists supervised by New York Times editors and reporters. They work as reporters, copy editors, photographers, Web producers, print and Web designers and video journalists. Many alumni of the program now work at major news organizations.

“During the institute at Dillard, I will be responsible for writing an enterprise story about New Orleans,” Harris said. “By the end of the program, we will produce a newspaper. I have seen copies of past publications and can tell the expectations are high. What’s really exciting is that the paper will contain The New York Times masthead. I’m really looking forward to utilizing the skills I’ve gained from the Meek school, SMC and internships.”

Harris is multimedia editor at The Daily Mississippian, a former NewsWatch anchor, and was named Best Magazine Writer by the Southeast Journalism Conference for articles published in “The Flood of the Century” depth report. Her internships include print and television work in Jackson.

In the summer of 2012, Dean Will Norton and three students traveled to South Africa to work on a reporting project with students from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Harris was one of the Meek School students on that trip.

Dean Norton noted that at the end of one of her essays for the South Africa publication, Harris wrote: “Although separated by the Atlantic Ocean, Mississippi and South Africa often fight the same struggles. How to look forward to the future without denying the past poses a challenge. However, the battle can be won.”

Dean Norton added: “That expression of optimism in the face of enormous challenges is who Bracey is for me.”