USC Annenberg undergraduate student Alex Herbach (B.A. Print Journalism '09 — pictured above with press pass before a 2007 World Series game) is one of seven students nationwide to win a 2008 Jim Murray Memorial Scholarship, the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation announced. He is USC Annenberg's fourth Murray Scholar and the fifth overall from USC.
"After nine years of cultivating the crème of the crop at prestigious journalism schools in the nation, it is exhilarating and heartwarming to see how our family of Murray Scholars grew to 63 this year," said Linda McCoy-Murray, president and founder of the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation. "The Murray Scholars inspire each other to strive for a higher standard in their writing and journalistic integrity. They are marvelous ambassadors for the Foundation."
Herbach, from Saratoga, Calif., received a $7,500 scholarship after his essay on sports journalism in the digital age and application were chosen by seven judges as one of the winners. He will be honored at the JMMF 10th anniversary “Tribute to Living Legends of Sports and Media” dinner on Thursday evening, Oct. 30, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. He writes for USC's Daily Trojan newspaper and Rafu Shimpo, the nation's leading bilingual Japanese American daily newspaper.
"I still have a lot to learn, but this is certainly a vote of confidence," Herbach said. "I want to thank the Murray Scholarship committee for providing me with that."
Journalists who determined the 2008 winners were J.A. Adande, ESPN.com (and USC Annenberg adjunct journalism professor); Dan Bickley, The Arizona Republic; Mike Harris, Associated Press; Jill Painter, Los Angeles Daily News; Leo Roth, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle; Kevin Sherrington, Dallas Morning News; and Mike Vaccaro, The New York Post.
McCoy-Murray established the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation to perpetuate her late husband's memory and his love and dedication to his extraordinary career in journalism. Murray (pictured, right), who died Aug. 16, 1998, began his illustrious career at the New Haven Register. After a stint at the now extinct Los Angeles Examiner, he joined Time & Life [now Time, Inc.] In 1954, while Hollywood cinema correspondent for Time magazine, Murray became one the founders of Sports Illustrated. Joining the Los Angeles Times in 1961, Murray won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1990, and won the National Sportswriter of the Year Award 14 times. Murray's outstanding work landed him a spot in the writers' wing in Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.
The other 2008 scholarship winners are Kyle Austin, Syracuse University; Kyle Goon, University of Maryland; Ryan Haney, Trinity College-Hartford; Bill Oram, University of Montana; Michael Sanserino, Indiana University; and Mark Viera, Penn State University.
Jim Murray Memorial Foundation
