Caleigh Bartash and Jill Rice Awarded ACES Bill Walsh Editing Scholarship for 2022

Congrats to Caleigh Bartash, a senior at the University of Maryland, and Jill Rice, a senior at Fordham College at Lincoln Center in New York, on winning the 2022 copy-editing scholarship named after my late brother, Bill Walsh. My brother Terence and I are judges on the panel each year. And out of 28 candidates this time around, we were so impressed with both of them that it ended in a tie -- something that has never happened before. I was unable to attend the ceremony at which the prizes were handed out, but my brother's widow, Jacqueline, is in San Antonio for the festivities, and shared the photo below.

She writes: The three most recent winners of Bill's scholarship, together on the San Antonio River Walk. (don't worry, they each got a book)

Hard to fathom that he’s been gone five years now; we sure miss you, Billy. 💔

From a release:

For the first time, the $3,500 Bill Walsh Scholarship for excellence in the editing of news has been awarded to two students in the same year. The winners are Caleigh Bartash, a senior at the University of Maryland, and Jill Rice, a senior at Fordham College at Lincoln Center in New York.

They are the fifth and sixth winners of the Walsh Scholarship, named for the late author of three books and an editor of news at The Washington Post. The award is administered by the Education Fund of ACES: The Society for Editing and is endowed by the Walsh family, ACES members and other contributors. Bill Walsh was a member of the Education Fund board.

In addition to each winning $3,500, the students receive support to attend the annual ACES conference for skill-building.

Bartash, majoring in multi-platform journalism, is an editor at Stories Beneath the Shell, a student-run digital publication that covers underreported and diverse stories in the University of Maryland community and surroundings. She has interned with Stars and Stripes, which is the independent news provider for the U.S. military community, and the National Consumers League. 

As an editor of news, Bartash says, “It is my job to ensure that readers can quickly grasp current events that inform their lives. I have to draw them in and present information concisely.”

Rice is an online editor for The Fordham Observer, the university’s student newspaper, and has interned at Busted Halo, a media resource that aims for a more joyful and meaningful experience of Catholicism. She majors in classical languages and comparative literature, noting that “Latin is what taught me English grammar,” which is a foundation for editing.

She adds, “Editing news lets me become (and stay) aware of anything that happens in the world—and I can spell it all, too.”

Finalists for the 2022 Bill Walsh Scholarship had to take a timed editing test, write a short essay about the joys of editing news, correct a news lede, write short summaries for a variety of news reports and write briefly regarding the worst thing a news copy editor can do.  

For more information, click HERE.

Andrea Halland-Arms Awarded ACES Bill Walsh Scholarship for 2021

 

Congrats to University of Montana student Andrea Halland-Arms on winning the 2021 Bill Walsh Scholarship. She is the online and print supervising editor of the Montana Kaiminis, which has been the university's student-run newspaper since 1898. In addition, she is a social media intern for Waldorf Publishing. 

My late brother Bill’s love of language lives on through outstanding young editors like her. Although the pandemic makes holding an in-person ACES conference impossible this year, our excitement for our winner is as strong as ever. xo

From a release:

Andrea Halland-Arms, a University of Montana student with a double major in journalism and English literature, is the fourth annual winner of the $3,500 Bill Walsh Scholarship, named for the late author of three books and editor of news at The Washington Post. 

After winning the Walsh Scholarship, which goes to a student who aspires to a career of editing news, Halland-Arms said: “Ever since middle school, I have wanted to be an editor, specifically a book editor, at first. When I got to college, I decided to study journalism because I read that many people in the publishing field have degrees in journalism. I fell in love with the program and editing journalistic writing … and I hope to continue work as a copy editor after I graduate. 

Finalists for the 2021 scholarship had to write a solution for a newsroom deadline dilemma, correct a news lead, write short summaries for a variety of news reports, take a timed editing test and write briefly regarding the worst thing a news copy editor can do. 

The worst, Halland-Arms wrote, is to “allow a factual inaccuracy or a misspelled name to be published.” Doing so would “demonstrate that the copy editor does not have a passion for delivering accurate news to their community.” 

Support for the Walsh Scholarship comes from donations from the Walsh family, members of ACES: The Society for Editing, and other contributors. The scholarship competition is administered by the ACES Education Fund, of which Bill Walsh was a board member.

For more information, click HERE.

Annalee Hubbs Awarded ACES Bill Walsh Scholarship for 2020

Congrats to Western Kentucky University student Annalee Hubbs on winning the 2020 Bill Walsh Scholarship. She is an editor of the university’s Talisman, an online and in-print life, culture and news outlet. She also works as a trainer for Panera Bread and is a student ambassador for the university. My brother Bill’s love of language lives on through outstanding young editors like her. Although the pandemic made holding an in-person ACES conference impossible this year, our excitement for our winner is as strong as ever. xo

From HERE.

Nancy Coleman Awarded ACES Bill Walsh Scholarship for 2019

Congrats, indeed! My brother Bill’s love of language lives on through outstanding young editors like her. Note the person who liked the tweet is last year’s winner, Jamie Zega! xo

Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words?

Find out by following me on Instagram HERE.

Family Ties

Another bittersweet Bill moment, seeing how the auction of his tie collection at the ACES conference earlier this year in Chicago -- to raise money for the editing scholarship that bears his name -- turned out. Even though they're only ties, it's very moving to see what love and care the buyers feel for them, their own little piece of my big brother. xo 

 P.S. If you or someone you know would be interested in applying for the Bill Walsh Scholarship -- curmudgeons preferred -- applications are now being accepted through Nov. 15. 

Full details HERE.

Le(a)d Astray

From HERE.

My Kind of Town

Just a heads-up to my fellow copy-editor friends and cohorts around the country that I have made an 11th-hour decision to go to Chicago to be at the ACES conference on Thursday for the presentation of the first Bill Walsh Scholarship. (I'll also be at the happy hour tomorrow at Encyclopædia Britannica.) Hope to see some of you there!

Indiana University Student Jamie Zega Wins First Bill Walsh Scholarship

Thrilled to announce that we have selected Jamie Zega as the inaugural recipient of the ACES Bill Walsh Scholarship, named in memory of my brilliant language-authority brother. (Ceremony at the upcoming American Copy Editors Society conference in Chicago.) Congrats, Jamie -- Bill would be very proud! And thanks to everyone who contributed to the fund. Read HERE

Fitting that we should announce the news on the anniversary of this very special visit. xo

ABC Sigh-witness News

Maybe The New York Times is right to obliterate its copy desk -- ABC Eyewitness News has figured out a much cheaper way to edit its online stories. 

ACES Bill Walsh Scholarship Set at $3,000

Exciting update about the editing scholarship honoring my brother Bill. My sister-in-law reports that thanks to so many generous donations, the Bill Walsh Scholarship has been set at $3,000 for 2017, the largest of the six given by the American Copy Editors Society. It will go to an applicant who "demonstrates the talent and passion for language that Bill devoted his life to and who aspires to pursue the craft of editing the news." Application deadline is Nov. 15.

Students can apply HERE.

(Would love to hear if one my readers applies, or one of your nieces or nephews!)

And for those kindly inquiring, donations to the fund can be made HERE.

(Thanks to everyone who has already generously contributed!)

So happy and proud that my brother's legacy to the field he loved will live on. xo

Bill Walsh Editing Scholarship Announced at ACES 2017

From HERE.

Exciting news from the recent ACES conference in St. Petersburg, Fla., where my brother's receiving the 2017 Glamann Award was also made public:

The American Copy Editors Society and Jacqueline Dupree have established the Bill Walsh Scholarship, which will be awarded annually to a promising j-school student seeking to enter the news editing profession. We're seeking to endow this scholarship and hope to do so with your donation. If you loved Bill Walsh and what he did so well, please consider donating by using the link HERE.

(It's tax deductible; be sure to click the Bill Walsh box on the form.)

Also, Bill's alma mater, the University of Arizona, wrote a great tribute that you can read HERE.

Rob Pegoraro wrote a sweet blog post about Bill HERE.

And this letter to the editor in response to Bill's Washington Post obituary sure made me smile.

Good Hed

Sometimes editors have to bend over backwards to make the news interesting.