Shannon Mason, senior JCS major and scholarship recipient, at the Rolling Stone offices.
John McCandlish Phillips was an award-winning journalist for The New York Times for 21 years (1952-1973) whose most famous story exposed the hidden background of an American Nazi and Ku Klux Klan leader, a story which inspired the 2001 film “The Believer.” Phillips quit the Times after 21 years and focused on planting churches and encouraging people in New York City. He remained passionate about good journalism and encouraged young people from faith backgrounds to pursue journalism as an important calling. Phillips passed away in April of 2013, but his journalistic legacy lives on through the McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute at The King’s College in New York City.
The McCandlish Phillips Journalism Scholarship was started in 2013 to honor Phillips’s legacy by raising up new generations of talented journalists who are also serious about their Christian faith. The scholarship offers a $3,000 annual scholarship ($12,000 total per student over four years) to four incoming freshmen or transfers every academic year. Eligible applicants must be accepted for admission to The King’s College and plan to enroll as a full-time Journalism, Culture and Society (JCS) major this fall.
To apply, students should email three published clips and a 500-word personal statement answering the question, “How can someone be both an excellent journalist and a committed Christian?” to Eleni Glader at eglader@tkc.edu. Due to Covid-19 concerns, the scholarship’s application deadline for the 2020-2021 academic school year has been extended to May 15, 2020. Learn more about the scholarship here.
We are excited by the success scholarship recipients are finding. Recipients have interned at newsrooms such as American Banker, The Queens Courier, New York Daily News and more. This spring, the first class of scholarship recipients will be graduating from The King’s College. Meet one of our seniors, Shannon Mason, below. Shannon is the editor-in-chief of the Empire State Tribune, interned in 2019 at the New York Daily News and is an editorial intern at Rolling Stone magazine.
Name: Shannon Mason
Age: 20
Hometown: Juneau, Alaska
Surprising bio detail we didn’t know: I am Alaska Native, Tlingit, from the Eagle clan in Juneau, Alaska.
How did you decide to come to The King’s College?
I decided to come to The King's College because I knew the place to be for journalism was in New York City, but if it wasn't for King’s introducing the newly added major, JCS, I wouldn't have come! I also wanted to go to a small school because I wanted a chance to get involved with the student newspaper, which King's and the Empire State Tribune (EST) allowed me to do upon arrival. All of that is definitely an experience you don't get anywhere else.
What has surprised you the most as you’ve become a journalist?
I never realized how important faith can be in such a secular career. When it comes down to it, I realized my faith really is a way for me to reach certain subjects that I want to interview or provide a viewpoint that some people do not think about.
What has practicing journalism taught you?
Journalism has taught me so much about how news can impact people. I have seen it change people's lives for the better and that is my constant encouragement. I know that sometimes the news seems sad, but I want to make it so that the news can be beneficial and truthful.
Shannon onsite at a photoshoot for the latest edition of EST Magazine.
Which journalism classes at King’s have helped you the most?
Media, Law, and Ethics with Professor Stephen Kurzcy was the hardest class I have taken at King's but it really allowed me to reconsider my own ethics and it taught me to stick up for my own reasoning. Additionally, I would not have gotten far in journalism if it wasn't for taking Introduction to Journalism with Professor Clementi Lisi during my freshman year or Narrative Non-Fiction with Professor Paul Glader.
Which non-journalism classes at King’s have helped you the most for a future in journalism?
Principles of Cultural Interpretation with Professor Alissa Wilkinson has really influenced the background on many of my articles. It has allowed me to piece together why culture reacts a certain way to phenomenons and helped me spot trends to write about.
Tell us a little bit about your journalistic endeavors while at King’s. Any highlights?
To no one's surprise, my highlights have been serving as editor-in-chief for EST and being an editorial intern at Rolling Stone.
What are some of your future journalistic goals?
I would like to continue writing for Rolling Stone, eventually get published in their magazine with a feature story, and one day become an editor there.