The Jim Leeson Prize is awarded annually to the student journalist at Vanderbilt University who best exemplifies the value of fairness and impartiality in reporting. Such reporting shows respect for all parties, especially on divisive and controversial issues, and a commitment to reporting facts as clearly, honestly, and thoroughly as possible.

Jim Leeson was a journalist and teacher who, in the 1970s and 1980s, was the consultant journalist at Vanderbilt Student Communications. In his career as a journalist, Leeson wrote for the Associated Press in New York and Nashville. Later, Leeson was the editor of the Southern School News and Race Relations Reporter, both funded by the Ford Foundation. At a time of racial strife, these publications provided the most comprehensive and unbiased reporting on school desegregation and the civil rights movement. These publications remain models of fair, open-minded, and comprehensive reporting.

In his years at Vanderbilt, Leeson taught students the values of independence and fairness. Leeson believed in giving students the opportunity to “run their own show,” making mistakes along the way. But he always set high standards for reporting, with a particular emphasis on fairness, whatever the subject or controversy. Leeson’s students went on to serve as writers, editors, and executives for a wide range of publications, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Outside, Education Week, Bergen (N.J.) Record, Tampa Bay Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Chicago Tribune, Congressional Quarterly, and United Press International, while others have found a niche writing books and working in business, the law, philanthropy, and academe.

The Jim Leeson Prize is open to all students at Vanderbilt University who report for any news outlet, on or off campus.

To apply for the Jim Leeson Prize, students should write and upload to the online application form a brief cover letter stating their greatest challenge as a reporter, during the current academic year. All applications should include five-to-seven pieces from the same time period that exemplify the values of the Leeson Prize. Those pieces may be in the form of any of the following: links to articles, files of clippings, audio and/or video files.

A three-person committee, appointed by Vanderbilt Student Communications, will make the final decision about the Leeson Prize winner. Winner will receive a $500 cash prize and have their name etched on a plaque that will be displayed in the Sarratt Student Center.