University of Idaho Journalism Student Lands Top Post-Graduate Fellowship

Jan. 5, 2007

MOSCOW, Idaho – Cynthia Reynaud, a senior studying journalism at the University of Idaho, has been awarded a Summer Fellowship for Young Journalists by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Reynaud is one of 16 college seniors and recent graduates chosen for the six-week reporting and writing program from a field of 96 applicants. She was selected after submitting published news stories, an essay and recommendations from her professors and editors.

Kelly McBride, director of Poynter’s fellowship program, describes it as “a combination of boot camp and finishing school.” Participants attend seminars led by top journalists and report on events and issues in St. Petersburg neighborhoods. A parallel program in visual journalism gives photographers and designers similar opportunities. The fellows’ work appears on the Poynter Institute’s Web site.

“We take journalists on the cusp of a career and instill in them the practical values and skills on which they can build their life's work,” McBride said. “We see in Cynthia strong reporting and writing skills, an openness to continue learning and most importantly, the ability to think critically about journalism’s role in democracy and community.”

Reynaud has been a reporter and news editor for the Argonaut, Idaho’s twice-weekly student newspaper. In 2005, she won a Chips Quinn Fellowship from the Freedom Forum and worked as a reporter for the St. Cloud Times in Minnesota. In 2006, she had a summer internship at the Lewiston Tribune.

Reynaud spent spring semester 2006 studying at the American University of Rome, Italy. She will graduate from the University of Idaho in May 2007 with a major in journalism and a minor in political science.

“Cynthia already possesses all of the traits of an excellent reporter: curiosity, enterprise, persistence and the ability to adapt to a variety of assignments,” said Kenton Bird, director of the University of Idaho's School of Journalism and Mass Media. “The Poynter experience will polish her skills and launch her into a media career.”

A 2003 graduate of Central Catholic High School in Billings, Mont., Reynaud first came to Idaho as a participant in the Scripps Howard Multicultural Workshop. She is the daughter of Bea and Albert Reynaud of Billings. She is a member of the University Honors Program [and a Honors Program Certificate Recipient] and Delta Delta Delta sorority.

Reynaud is the third University of Idaho journalism student to be chosen for Poynter’s prestigious summer program. Brian Passey, a 2004 fellow, is a reporter for The Spectrum in St. George, Utah, where he also reports for USA Today. Jessie Bonner, a 2005 fellow, is a reporter for the Bonita Springs bureau of the Naples Daily News in Florida.

“Brian and Jessie are both doing stellar work in their jobs,” McBride said. “We expect that Cynthia will follow in their footsteps.”

The Poynter Institute, a school for journalists, future journalists and teachers of journalism, was founded in 1975 by the late Nelson Poynter, chairman of the St. Petersburg Times and its Washington affiliate, Congressional Quarterly.

For more information, contact: Kenton Bird, School of Journalism and Mass Media, (208) 885-4947, kbird@uidaho.edu; Kelly McBride, Poynter Institute, (727) 821-9494 ext.340, kmcbride@poynter.org; or Cynthia Reynaud, (406) 690-4087, reyn0584@uidaho.edu.

About the University of Idaho

Founded in 1889, the University of Idaho is the state’s flagship higher-education institution and its principal graduate education and research university, bringing insight and innovation to the state, the nation and the world. University researchers attract more than $100 million in research grants and contracts each year; the University of Idaho is the only institution in the state to earn the prestigious Carnegie Foundation ranking for high research activity. The university’s student population includes first-generation college students and ethnically diverse scholars. Its high academic performers include 42 National Merit Scholars and a 2006-07 freshmen class with an average high school grade point average of 3.42. Offering more than 150 degree options in 10 colleges, the university combines the strengths of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities.