An award offering young journalists placements at the Times and New Statesman has opened for applications with a prize money of almost £5,000 more than last year.
This year’s recipient of the Anthony Howard Award will receive £26,500 and spend six months each at the two publications, starting in October.
It was won by last year by George Grylls, 24, for his proposal to investigate the rise of the Youtube politician, including those he believed owed their success to the platform.
He wrote: “We know that Twitter is Donald Trump’s platform of choice, yet very little study has been dedicated to the way in which political voices and beliefs are cultivated for the YouTube generation.”
Howard (pictured), a former New Statesman editor, Observer deputy editor and Times obituaries editor, died in 2010.
Haymarket Media Group founder Lord Heseltine set up the award in 2013 in memory of Howard, who was seen as a keen judge of new journalistic talent.
It previously included a placement at the Observer and had a total salary of £25,000 per year, but the paper pulled out last year to focus on its own schemes, such as the Scott Trust Bursary which helps people through MA journalism courses and has just reopened for entries.
The Times has now extended its placement from four months to six months, with a six-month placement at the New Statesman.
Previous prize winners include Times defence editor Lucy Fisher and Washington correspondent Henry Zeffman, Independent political correspondent Ashley Cowburn, New Statesman political correspondent Patrick Maguire and BBC News journalist Dulcie Lee.
Applicants for the 2020 prize are now welcomed from working or aspiring journalists aged under 27, who must submit a proposal for a 5,000-word piece on a certain aspect of British politics and government.
Applicants for should send their proposal along with an example of their writing (up to 800 words) and a short CV, including contact details, to anthonyhowardaward@gmail.com.
The deadline for entry is 23.59pm on Friday 17 April 2020.
Picture: Murdo Macleods
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog
