The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney has awarded its 2016 media fellowship, in partnership with the World Press Institute, to reporter Nino Bucci from The Age in Melbourne.

Bucci was selected from a very strong field of early to mid-career Australian journalists to travel to the United States this year where he will join nine other international World Press Fellows for two months of immersion in US politics, business, culture, and media.

Bucci said he was thrilled to be given the opportunity to pursue his keen interest in the United States.

"The program will provide me with a rare opportunity to engage with the craft of journalism and the importance of the media while removed from the daily pressures of working as a reporter," he said.

"I am particularly looking forward to being in the country at the pointy end of the election campaign and also hope to explore the US approach to justice issues, including imprisonment rates, street gangs, Islamic extremism and gun crime, which I write about regularly for The Age and Fairfax Media."

United States Studies Centre CEO Simon Jackman said the fellowship is an exciting opportunity to further develop journalistic excellence.

“In an age of 24-hour news and networked, global media organisations, international perspectives are fundamental for developing outstanding journalism and editorial practice,” he said.

“Nino was an impressive applicant who demonstrated maturity, a strong interest in US affairs, as well a desire to learn and understand more about the longer term issues facing journalism and the media. He will have a unique opportunity to experience the US elections up-close and report from newsrooms across America's diverse media landscape.”

Jackman also thanked the Skrzynski Family’s Sky Foundation for co-sponsoring the fellowship with the Centre again this year.

Bucci currently reports on crime and justice at The Age in Melbourne, where he has been for the last five years. He graduated from La Trobe University with a Bachelor of Journalism and was previously writing for The Bendigo Advertiser and The Canberra Times.

The fellowship, based at the World Press Institute in Minneapolis–St Paul, Minnesota, will see Nino travel to Washington DC, New York, and other major US cities as part of a program of study, travel, and interviews.

This is the sixth year that the United States Studies Centre World Press Institute Fellowship has been awarded. Past recipients can be found at the Centre's website.

ENQUIRIES: Max Halden T 0420 354 699 E max.halden@sydney.edu.au