College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

Mr. Love goes to Washington

In addition to receiving the first ever Hugh Sidey Scholarship in Print Journalism, Fred Love got a tour of the White House briefing room.
For someone who has never been to the Washington, D.C., before, Fred Love had an opportunity few will ever have in the nation's capital.

Love has been selected as the first recipient of the Hugh S. Sidey Scholarship in Print Journalism. The scholarship has been established by the White House Historical Association (WHHA) in recognition of Hugh Sidey, a 1950 journalism graduate of Iowa State and a long-time White House correspondent for Time magazine who covered the American Presidency for 30 years. Sidey died in November 2005.

The scholarship was formally announced in a special ceremony at the White House on Friday, Jan. 26. First Lady Laura Bush and former President George H.W. Bush participated in that ceremony.

"Since I've never even been to Washington before, the opportunity to go to the White House and get a tour is a fantastic opportunity," Love said. "I knew it was going to be a great experience, but it was above and beyond that."

In addition to a guided tour of the White House, the trip to Washington and a chance to meet with members of the Iowa Congressional delegation and members of the White House press corps, Love received a $5,000 scholarship.
The scholarship supports aspiring print journalists and will be awarded on an annual basis to a Greenlee School student who exhibits extraordinary understanding of the responsibilities of covering the chief executive of the United States.

Love was selected from a pool of applicants each of whom wrote essays on the challenges, principles and importance of reporting on the modern presidency. The essays focused on social responsibility of a print journalist covering the executive branch.

"I've always been interested in political journalism, especially the relationship between presidents and the press," the double major in journalism and mass communication and political science said. "For my essay I researched Mr. Sidey's columns and articles that appeared in Time.

"After writing this paper I hope to become a White House reporter like Mr. Sidey."

After his whirlwind tour of Washington, Love will stay in the city for a semester-long internship sponsored by the Center for Politics and Journalism. He will be assigned to work for a news bureau for a major daily newspaper and will attend seminars for the interns.

"The internship is for student journalists but the emphasis will be how to cover politics," said Love, who has been a member of the Iowa State Daily staff since his freshman year on campus.

"This internship and the Sidey Scholarship are just two great opportunities that Iowa State journalism students have. I can't say enough good things about being a journalism student here," he said.