The United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney has awarded its 2015 media fellowship, in partnership with the World Press Institute, to television journalist Leah Craven from Network Ten in Melbourne.

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

“In an era of global media, the 24-hour news cycle, and convergence of media platforms, having an international perspective is becoming a prerequisite for the best journalism and editorial practice,” said the Centre’s chief executive, Professor Bates Gill.

“Leah is already very talented in her field and the fellowship will provide an invaluable opportunity for her to further enrich her understanding of American institutions and culture, while meeting and working alongside journalists from around the globe.”

Gill said the fellowship represented an extraordinary opportunity and he thanked the Skrzynski Family’s Sky Foundation for co-sponsoring the fellowship with the Centre again this year.

Craven is currently the state political reporter in Network Ten’s Melbourne newsroom. She began her career as a cadet journalist at SBS Sydney in 2008 and has worked for both SBS and Channel Ten at Parliament House Canberra. Leah has reported from Afghanistan and was among the last journalists to be embedded with the Australian Defence Force prior to its withdrawal in late 2013.

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

This is the fifth year that the United States Studies Centre World Press Institute Fellowship has been awarded.