The Chicago Headline Club and the Chicago Headline Club Foundation each year award a $5,000 scholarship honoring Les Brownlee to a Chicago-area journalism student.
Applicants for the Brownlee Scholarship must be current undergraduate journalism students (no recent graduates) at a Chicago-area college. Candidates are assessed by a committee of the Headline Club Foundation and evaluated on their previous experience, clips, cover letter and their interest in pursuing a journalism career.
Candidates should fill out an application at this link and include a cover letter, resume and at least three work samples. Direct questions to Bob Rowley.
Applications are due no later than April 11, 2022.
2021 Recipients
Borderless Magazine and the Evanston RoundTable were selected as recipients of the 2021 Intern Grants, and DePaul University senior Cameron “Cam” Rodriguez was the winner of the Les Brownlee Memorial Scholarship.
“There were many terrific candidates this year, which made our job of selecting only one even harder. But Rodriguez was an exceptional candidate,” CHC Foundation President Molly McDonough said.
See past scholarship and internship grant recipients here.
About Les Brownlee
Brownlee’s journalism career began as a reporter for Ebony Magazine, and he later joined the Chicago Defender. In 1950, he was the first Black reporter to join the staff of the Chicago Daily News. Over the years he also worked for several radio stations, including WBBM-AM, and television stations including WLS-TV, where in 1975 he won an Emmy Award for editorial writing. He is noted for his sign-off: “Les Brownlee, WLS Eyewitness News.” After he retired from television, Brownlee joined the faculty of Columbia College Chicago, where he taught journalism full-time for more than 20 years and inspired countless students.