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BSU Student wins National Award
but not invited to ceremony
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During a New York City banquet, Justin Terry was awarded a
prestigious national journalism award for in-depth reporting, the
only problem was: He wasn’t there.
Terry, who will graduate in May, never received an invitation to
the Society of Professional Journalists awards ceremony. “I
would have loved to have been there,” said Terry. A package
arrived at the BSU radio offices inside the Idaho Capitol building,
addressed to him. Inside was a plaque, and that’s how Terry
discovered he had won the Mark of Excellence.
The lack of flare doesn’t bother him. “It’s a
really cool honor,” said Terry. He won the award for his
radio piece entitled “New Freedom Riders”, a radio
feature story on The Freedom Ride, a group of immigrants and civil
rights supporters who rode buses across the country picking up
people along to way, ultimately ending at a rally in Washington
D.C. “It was one of my favorite stories, just the sights and
sounds of the people,” said Terry.
Terry rode on a bus several hundred miles through several hundred
miles of Idaho, interviewing and recording. There were 25 to 30
people on the bus, mostly farm workers with a deep love for
America.
As they boarded the bus at 6 a.m., people sang in Spanish about how
they were taking their message to Washington and how much they
loved this country. Terry was in awe, “I thought I was
idealistic.”
The trip made a strong impression on Terry and soon after he became
involved in the MLK celebration on campus. A lot of people never
get the opportunity to attend college. Students have the privilege
to make a difference. “I’m lucky I’m a college
student, I get to be idealistic.”
Terry got involved with BSU radio with the same lack of flare with
which he won his award. He found a flyer in his apartment laundry
room, called the number and got no response. He kept calling and a
couple of months later he started working in broadcast journalism.
He had never done anything like it, “It was the sink or swim
method.”
Terry knows more about Boise than his hometown, “Being a
journalist, it’s your job to know about the place you
live.” He is always in search of knowledge and hopes his
journalism can make some small difference in the world.
Terry always tries to give both sides of the story, something that
doesn’t always happen in mainstream media. People need to
understand both sides of the argument. “I am very critical of
mass media…I have a very strong feeling about
journalism.”
Terry’s stories broadcast on BSU Radio, while most student
radio programs can only be heard between 8 p.m. and 10 on AM six
days a week.
Monica Price
News Editor