Do you have a great story? Will your story take more than hard work and solid skills?

We're offering a $1,000 reporting grant to help you report and produce your story. And once it's published on UPI.com, we'll pay you $500 more.

Good journalism costs money. The professional journalists who make up UPIU's mentoring team know that all too well.
That's why we want to give j-students a financial kick-start to pursue a big story. If you (alone or with a team) pitch the strongest story idea, you'll get $1,000 to pay for travel, data analysis software, freedom of information requests – anything you need to report and produce your story. You can even set aside some of the money to pay for your own time.
Once the story is accepted by UPI.com editors, we'll send another $500 your way as payment for work well done.
Broadcast students, photojournalists, radio reports, online text writers – everyone who is studying journalism is encouraged to apply. Want to produce a mini-documentary? Send us a pitch! Want to pair up with a photojournalism student to submit a photo gallery alongside text? Even better! Do you have the skills to create an interactive Web feature? We want to hear about it!
The story pitch that plans to provide UPI.com readers with the fullest understanding of the issue – from text to photos to graphics to video – will be given major preference.

How does it work?

1. Write up your story idea. The story must include a news hook, story theme, source list, reporting plan, and a budget with details of how you'll spend the cash.
2. Choose a UPI.com section where you feel your story would best fit. That means you should go to the site and tinker around until you get a feel for what goes where. Be sure to state in your story pitch the section you recommend, and why.
3. Get your journalism professor's buy-in. Have one of your journalism professors' vet your idea, and your plan, before you submit it. We'll need their official sign-off on your idea. (Professors, we won't ask you to do anything more – we just want to be sure student ideas have local support. If you want to act as a mentor if your student wins, please do! But you're not required to do so.)
4. Pitch your idea! All pitches will be handled through the contest page on UPI.com.
5. Once we approve your idea, we'll give you half of the grant money. You'll get the other half once you turn in your story outline. When your story is published on UPI.com, we'll send you the final $500.

Who is eligible?

Are you a journalism student? Do you have a UPIU profile? (Go here to set one up!) Then what are you waiting for?

What kind of stories will make the grade?

We're looking for uncovered and under-covered stories. That means that if your story topic already gets major play in big news publications, we probably won't give you the grant. Find a unique story that hasn't been covered, or hasn't been covered well.
Check out these examples of great journalism for some inspiration:

• Freelancer Betsy Pisik traveled to Nigeria to write about lead poisoning, an under-reported problem stemming from gold mining:
• Julia Keller of the Chicago Tribune wove a beautiful narrative about a tornado that earned her a 2005 Pulitzer Prize.
• The Guardian produced a stellar audio slideshow about a group of street children who formed a brass band in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• The New York Times in 2002 published a fantastic interactive feature on dwindling water resources, complete with maps, articles and photo galleries.
• Photojournalist Darcy Padilla chronicled the life of an HIV-positive woman over 18 years.
• Photojournalist Christophe Archambault illustrates life in the shadow of a volcano in Indonesia.

A few things to remember:

We DON'T want a story that is a general overview. Your story MUST reveal something new or noteworthy about your topic, and have a SPECIFIC focus.
You MUST be able to produce your story within a reasonable time period. Don't pitch a story that will take six months to report and produce.

What makes a good story pitch?

You've got three paragraphs to sell us on your story idea, your own reporting abilities, and why this story will be important for UPI.com readers. Pitches longer than three paragraphs will not be considered for the program. Pitches that are three paragraphs of exhaustive length will not be considered for the program. Keep in mind that we're looking for journalists who can tell a story succinctly. If you're selected as a finalist for this grant, you might be contacted for more information about your proposed story.
Before you pitch, do an early interview or two, or some in-depth research about your topic, to ensure your topic is narrow, and achievable. Be sure to specify in your pitch who you'll interview, and where and how you will find your sources.
Include a brief budget for your story. Make sure we'll understand why you need this money to produce it. If you're working as a team (and we encourage you to do so,) tell us how each student will benefit from the grant.
IMPORTANT: Be sure you can deliver on your story pitch. If your final version does not match your pitch, you won't be paid the full grant stipend, and you won't earn a UPI.com byline.

What will I have to do if I win?

We'll give you a temporary UPI press pass, and then you'll spend about four weeks doing interviews, working with editors on your reporting plan, and producing your story. Your job:
-- Report, report report. interview experts, contact local residents affected by your story, develop an understanding of who the major players are in your story.
-- Develop additional tools. Think of ways to make your data, conclusion or information easier for readers to understand. Ex: Maps, quizzes, interactive surveys and the like. (Think about pairing up with a j-student who has graphic skills.)
-- Produce a punchy, active story (or series of stories) that delivers all the information readers need to understand your story.

What's the deadline and how do I submit my pitch?

Deadline is Sept. 26, 2011. All story pitches should be made through the contest home page on UPI.com.
More questions? E-mail UPIU Regional Director and Senior Mentor Krista Kapralos at kkapralos@upi.com

Click here to apply

Read more: http://www.upi.com/EDU-grant#ixzz1VMBUXsRl