Jackie Cutler, a May broadcast graduate of the Merill College, was named the Rob Sunde Fellow by the Radio-Television News Directors Association. She was selected by her fellow RTNDA scholarship winners at the annual convention in Las Vegas.
From RTNDA’s July 9 release:
The Radio and Television News Directors Foundation awarded the Rob Sunde Mentoring Fellowship to Jacqueline Cutler, the 2006 recipient of RTNDF’s Ed Bradley Scholarship.
Cutler, a broadcast journalism graduate from of the University of Maryland, was named the 2007 Rob Sunde Fellow during RTNDA@NAB in Las Vegas. Each year, the RTNDF scholarship and fellowship winners that attend the convention vote for one member of their elite group to receive the mentoring fellowship.
Cutler will work for two weeks this summer at WVLT-TV in Knoxville, TN, with Steve Crabtree, vice president of news and station operations. This will give her the chance to build on her previous broadcast experience.
“We all have an inherent responsibility to bring up the next generation of broadcast journalists by being responsible and effective mentors,” Crabtree said. “The Rob Sunde program effectively applies that theory to real life newsroom practice. It’s a win-win situation for the recipients and our industry. Unique for this recipient will be exposure to our emphasis on a 21st century multi-platform media.”
Cutler has been an anchor/reporter for WMUC-FM, University of Maryland’s student-operated radio station, and a special projects contributor at WFUV-FM in the Bronx, NY. She also has background as a print reporter, freelancing for the Prince George’s Post in Upper Marlboro, MD.
“As an aspiring journalist, I’m grateful for this opportunity,” Cutler said. “I think one of the greatest encouragements is to know that someone believes in you and will invest their time into helping you grow. I look forward to working with Steve Crabtree at WVLT-TV. I know this experience will broaden my perspective and help me build a solid foundation as a journalist.”
The mentoring program was established by Lila Sunde in memory of her husband Rob, a longtime broadcast news executive and former chairman of RTNDA who died in July 2003.
“The Rob Sunde mentorship program is one of the more outstanding efforts by RTNDA/RTNDF,” Crabtree said. “WVLT-TV is delighted and honored to have the opportunity to participate.”
For information about RTNDF’s scholarships and fellowships, visit http://www.rtnda.org/asfi/index.asp, or contact Melanie Lo at 202.467.5218 or melaniel@rtnda.org.
RTNDF provides training programs, seminars, scholarship support and research in areas of critical concern to electronic news professionals and their audience. The foundation’s work is supported by contributions from foundations, corporations, members of the Radio-Television News Directors Association and other individuals.
