Journalism Students Win Top Dow Jones Internships

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Riley Atkinson (left) and Robert Stewart

The Dow Jones News Fund has chosen two U of A School of Journalism and Strategic Media students for prestigious reporting internships.   

Sophomore Riley Atkinson received a data journalism spot, and senior Robert Stewart was selected for the multiplatform editing program. Stewart, of Alexandria, Virginia, serves as editor of The Arkansas Traveler student newspaper. Atkinson, of Prairie Village, Kansas, oversees Main Hill Media, a student-run creative advertising agency.

"The University of Arkansas faculty has inspired me and encouraged me through the whole process. They've provided me with so many opportunities to further my career," said Atkinson, who is also a UATV anchor and Razorback yearbook copy editor.

The internships, which include $1,500 scholarships, are through the Dow Jones News Fund, which provides classes in business and data reporting, digital media, audience engagement and editing, followed by paid internships.

Students competed for 99 spots in this year's class through rigorous testing on a variety of things, including journalism ethics, editing and current events. Of the 14 colleges in the Southeastern Conference, only four schools had students in the group announced this month: the U of A, University of Missouri, University of South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

"I'm excited that these two talented journalists will have this national experience," said Gina Shelton, who oversees the school's internship program. "This is the pinnacle of journalism internships."

After spending time in editing training with 14 other interns at the University of Texas, Austin, Stewart will be based in Washington with military news outlet Stars and Stripes. 

"Having grown up so close to D.C., it's a new experience and a homecoming all at once. I'm so thankful I chose to go to the U of  A and get involved with The Traveler, because I've grown so much as a person and as a journalist over the last four years," said Stewart, a four-year veteran of The Traveler staff and writer for Hawgbeat.com.

Stewart is the third Traveler editor in four years to win a spot in the program. Last year, editor Sarah Komar interned for The New York Times, her second year in the Dow Jones program, and she begins graduate school in investigative journalism at Columbia University this fall. Alex Nicoll, Traveler editor from 2017-2019, was selected in both 2018 and 2019. He now works in Houston as a multiplatform editor for Hearst.

Atkinson will intern with the Advertising Specialty Institute after training with 13 other interns with the Investigative Reporters and Editors at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Their focus is to obtain and analyze data, visualize information and employ other computer-assisted reporting methods.

"This will give me an outlook on what it looks like to mix my passion for journalism and public relations. I'll be stretching myself, working 40 hours a week at a professional level at a major national advertising company," Atkinson said.

Both The Traveler and Main Hill Media are part of the Office of Student Media in the Division of Student Affairs, which also oversees the university's student-led television station, UATV; radio station, KXUA; the Razorback yearbook; and The Hill magazine.

Robyn Starling Ledbetter, director of Student Media at the U of A, said, "Riley and Robert are impressive student leaders who work hard. Student Media at the University of Arkansas provides a real industry-standard learning environment, and both Riley and Robert have taken advantage of that. I'm impressed with their amazing accomplishments, and I'm very proud of the experience Student Media has given them to excel."

The Dow Jones News Fund, based in Princeton, New Jersey, is the charitable arm of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch and Barron's. For more information visit dowjonesnewsfund.org.