The Midwest Broadcasts Journalists Association and Foundation offer two scholarships each year.

The MBJF Diversity Scholarship is presented by the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Foundation to recognize outstanding promise in the field of broadcasting.

2023 MBJF Diversity Scholarship winner Ava Hartwell: “I am currently attending the University of Minnesota double majoring in Journalism and Dakota language. I finished my first semester on the Dean’s List, and completed a year-long project with the Ramsey County Historical Society in which I interviewed Dakota Language teachers here in the Twin Cities. I absolutely love the confidence that the MBJF Diversity Scholarship gave me to declare my majors so early on and continue on telling stories from my community.”

The purpose of the scholarship is to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in newsrooms across the Midwest by providing support to journalism students of diverse backgrounds, historically underrepresented in the field.

We welcome applicants who believe they qualify for a diversity scholarship, including Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, multiracial, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and more. We look forward to hearing your unique story and experiences.

Each year, the foundation will present a $1500 award to a full-time college or university undergraduate or graduate student with at least one academic term remaining beyond the spring semester before graduation, who is preparing for and demonstrated taking steps toward a career in radio, television and/or digital journalism. Academic achievement and experience in the field, including internships, jobs, and volunteer work, will be considered.

The deadline to apply for the 2024 scholarship has been extended to 6 p.m. CT on Monday, March 11. Apply now!

The scholarship is awarded based on the following three criteria:

• Dedication to broadcast journalism as a career
• Academic achievement
• Experience in the field of broadcast journalism (including internships, part-time or full-time jobs and volunteer work)

To apply, fill out the online application form and submit it before the deadline. The winner will be contacted and invited to attend the Midwest Journalism Conference where the scholarship will be awarded.

The Jack Shelley Scholarship is presented by the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association to recognize outstanding promise in the field of broadcasting.

The award is named for Jack Shelley, who served for many years as anchor and News Director at WHO/Des Moines and later served as Professor Emeritus at Iowa State University.  He was a founder of the MBJA’s predecessor organization, the Northwest Broadcast News Association and of the National Association of Radio News Directors (now the Radio Television Digital News Association) and served as its third president.  He was the first president of the Associated Press Broadcasters and was for two decades the executive secretary of the Iowa Broadcast News Association.  That organization’s career achievement award is named for Jack. And when the Radio-Television Journalism Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication established its Distinguished Journalism Educator award, Jack was the first recipient.

He was a regular attendee of MBJA (then NBNA) conventions and personally handed out the scholarship award in his name to the winners until just a few years before his death in 2010 at the age of 98.

Each year, the association will present a $1500 award to a full-time college or university undergraduate or graduate student with at least one academic term remaining beyond the spring semester before graduation, who is preparing for and demonstrated taking steps toward a career in electronic journalism. Academic achievement and experience in the field, including internships, jobs, and volunteer work, will be considered.

The deadline to apply for the 2024 scholarship is February 23, 2024.

The scholarship is awarded based on the following three criteria:

• Dedication to broadcast journalism as a career
• Academic achievement
• Experience in the field of broadcast journalism (including internships, part-time or full-time jobs and volunteer work)

To apply, fill out this online application form and submit it before the deadline.  The winner will be contacted and invited to attend the Midwest Journalism Conference where the scholarship will be awarded.


Diversity Scholarship Recipients
 2023 Ava Hartwell U of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Shelley Scholarship Recipients