Charles Sturt University (CSU) is proud to announce a new scholarship dedicated to the memory of long-serving regional TV news journalist and former federal parliament Member for Calare, Mr Peter Andren, MP.

 

The Andren family has offered the Peter Andren Memorial Scholarship valued at up to $5 000 a year which is open to any student studying communication at the CSU School of Communication and Creative Industries in Bathurst.

 

The Chief Executive Officer of the CSU Foundation, Mr Jayson Hanrahan, said, “Charles Sturt University gratefully acknowledges the generosity of the Andren family for creating the Peter Andren Memorial Scholarship. It aims to encourage true investigative journalism, by providing funding for a project or proposal that explores a significant topic within our community or on a worldwide scale. This scholarship is open to all forms of media, and the prize may be used in anyway the successful applicant sees fit; for example, for the purchase of equipment, travel expenses, study costs and so on.”

 

Spokesperson for the Andren family, Mr Josh Andren, said his father had a strong belief that the media were entrusted with a public duty to record and report the events that defined our communities.

 

“He believed a journalist is more than a face on television or some words on paper,” Mr Andren said. “They are someone who seeks to discover the truth, and who has the community’s interests at heart and understands that journalism cannot be measured by ratings.

“Peter felt that this task has been forgotten by those who are currently in charge of deciding what is newsworthy. The scholarship aims to correct this shift in focus to where the next generation of journalists are encouraged to find their own stories and report something truly significant to the community rather then regurgitate another media release from this week’s celebrity.”

The courses relevant to the Peter Andren Memorial Scholarship include the Bachelor of Communication (Journalism),

Bachelor of Sports Studies/Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) (double degree), Bachelor of Communication (Commercial Radio), and the Bachelor of Communication (Theatre Media).