OFFER: Two NYT-related offers - Kristof trip + free TimesSelect
MySpace.com is teaming up with The New York Times for its second annual “Win A Trip With Nick” African reporting competition, offering one college or graduate student as well one middle- or high-school teacher the opportunity to accompany Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Nick Kristof on an expedition to Africa. MySpace is creating a customized community - http://www.myspace.com/winatrip - to engage users in the contest and offer video from the expedition, raising awareness about the challenges facing strife-ridden African nations.
“Traveling through Asia and Africa when I was in college was a turning point in my life,” said New York Times’ op-ed columnist and award winning journalist, Nick Kristof. “My hope is that the student and teacher who join me this summer will be similarly affected and will share their discoveries about Africa and its people with their peers and their students.”
“MySpace’s community is extremely passionate about social issues on a local and global level,” said Chris DeWolfe, CEO of MySpace. “MySpace users want more opportunities to make a positive impact on the world and we’re empowering them to do just that. MySpace is proud to be a part of Mr. Kristof’s extraordinary reporting project in Africa.”
Beginning this week, students and teachers are invited to submit essays explaining their reasons for wanting to go to Africa and articulating what makes them ideally suited for such an experience. Any student 18 or older who is attending an American college, university, or graduate school, and any teacher currently working in a middle or high school in the United States, is eligible. Essays must be limited to 700 words and must be received along with application forms by April 6. Information about the competition is available at http://www.myspace.com/winatrip and http://www.nytimes.com/winatrip.
The two winners will be chosen by Kristof and announced in late April. The trip, which will last one to two weeks, is planned for the latter part of June. Video and other content from the trip will be available on both MySpace and The New York Times’ website.
Due in part to the volatile politics in the region, the schedule for the trip is still being formed, but likely countries for Kristof and his traveling companions to visit include Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo. Award-winning multi-media producer Naka Nathaniel, who traveled with Mr. Kristof last year to produce video segments, will again take part in the trip and help the other participants create presentations to be filed by satellite phone.
Also beginning on March 13, subscriptions to TimesSelect will be available for free to all registered college students and faculty with a .edu in their e-mail addresses. TimesSelect is NYTimes.com’s paid offering, providing exclusive access to 22 columnists of The Times and the International Herald Tribune as well as an array of other services, including access to The Times’s archives, advance previews of various sections and tools for tracking and storing news and information. Current student subscribers will receive pro-rated refunds for their previously paid subscriptions. College students interested in registering for free TimesSelect subscriptions should go to http://www.nytimes.com/university for more information.
