[Professional Blog] Breen Again

Okay, so maybe I should change the name of this blog to All About Breen.

But yesterday, soon after posting that commentary by Muse editor Kerri Breen, I learned she had been awarded the EU-Canada Young Journalist Award. She is one of just three winners from across Canada.

According to their web site, the awards were established in 2001 by the European Union diplomatic missions in Ottawa to recognize outstanding journalistic merit or potential among Canadian students. This competition aims to reinforce links between the people of the European Union and Canada, and to promote awareness of the European Union among a new generation of Canadian students and journalists.

The winners are selected by an independent jury, which in the past has included Mr. Paul Wells (formerly of the National Post, now with Maclean's magazine), Ms. Manon Globensky and Ms. Emmanuelle Latraverse (Radio-Canada), and academic experts, specializing in journalism or EU affairs.

And heres how they describe the prize:

Brussels, the home of the European Union's institutions, is host to the largest permanent press corps in the world. By writing or recording a story about the European Union or EU-Canada relations, you could win a trip to Europe and meet the press corps in Brussels, the city at the heart of the EU's decision-making machinery.

Canadian students are invited to submit a composition on a current issue facing the European Union or EU-Canada relations... The winners will be invited on a one-week study tour to Europe, which includes a visit to the EU institutions in Brussels, paid for by the European Commission. Prior to the trip the winners will be invited to an award ceremony in Ottawa in May 2009, attended by senior journalists, government officials and the diplomatic corps.

Breen won with her updated version of a freelance piece she composed for The Telegram last year, called Eyeing Europe, about how the EU-Canada trade deal might affect this province.

Basically, I get a study trip to Brussels and I'll go to Ottawa to accept my award, Breen said. I'm beyond grateful to have been chosen. I'll be the first winner from Atlantic Canada.

Breens predecessor at the Muse, Sheena Goodyear, went on to win the National Bureau Chief position with Canadian University Press, and is now freelancing for the Toronto Star. And now we have this. The Muse, very clearly, is a hotbed of talent.

Click here to read more about the EU-Canada Young Journalist Award.