Poli sci student wins reporting trip to Japan


School of International Relations & Public Affairs (SIPA) student Michael Finch II is very, very excited: He is getting his first international stamp on his passport this summer when he leaves for Japan to study journalism on June 14.

Finch is one of nine students selected to participate in a nine-day journalism study trip to the East Asia island nation this month. The 23-year-old Miamian was selected a winner of the Scripps Howard Foundation’s annual Roy W. Howard National Collegiate Reporting Competition in March.

“I have always wanted to be a journalist, so this is very exciting,” said the senior. “I never thought that I would study abroad. I’ve never been to Asia – or outside the United States – so this is a big deal.”

Finch first heard about this opportunity through The SJMC ’Ship, a School of Journalism and Mass Communication newsletter, which he reads even though he transferred out of the school and into SIPA as a junior. He says he decided to major in political science instead of journalism because he believes poli sci could better inform his writing.

“I [wanted] to learn about the superstructure of other countries,” he said of his major switch in his essay for the Scripps Howard Foundation. “Journalists often have valued experiences in foreign nations, which may encourage them to risk reporting out of their home country in the future.”

One of the drivers for the foundation is to offer this expenses-paid opportunity to students. The prize addresses a need for tomorrow’s journalists to better understand international affairs, said Mike Philipps, president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Foundation.

The trip will include excursions primarily to Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, a visit to Hiroshima and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Park, and a stop at the Japanese bureau of The Wall Street Journal.

“A number of previous winners have chosen careers in international journalism,” Philipps said. “They often cite this journalism study trip as the motivation behind their decision.”

Already, Finch has been making his way through the industry. He is spending his summer interning as a member of the Tampa Bay Times’ Now Team – a gig to which he’ll return once he comes back stateside.