Larson Newspapers and the Sedona Red Rock News are proud to award this year’s journalism scholarship to Sedona Red Rock High School senior Brian Burke.
Burke came to us as a summer intern in 2016 between his sophomore and junior years. We typically do not take on interns that young, but his resume was promising and we wanted to offer him opportunities to improve.
Burke shadowed then-photojournalist Jordan Reece before shooting assignments on his own and providing us great work over the summer.
When it came to deciding who to award our scholarship, there was no one who deserves it more than Burke, who was not only a hardworking intern, but one of the best we’ve had.
“Because of my Sedona Red Rock News internship, I have developed a passionate desire to be an effective photojournalist,” Burke said. “I hope that by furthering my education, I will become an effective truth seeker in this time of uncertainty.”
After his internship, he continued to provide us occasional photos from breaking new events. My staff and I would often run into him at events around Sedona, shooting on his own or for The Sting, the student-run newspaper at SRRHS.
“Brian has been one of my top students on both my newspaper and yearbook staffs,” said Maureen Barton, the journalism instructor at SRRHS. “I believe the future will hold his name in high places with a career in the journalism industry. He speaks his mind persuasively in opinion articles, adds emotion in feature stories, emphasizes detail with news angles, combines staff views effectively in editorial columns, and his keen eye for photography knows no bounds.”
“His positions on staff, including editor-in-chief of the yearbook and as a newspaper reporter over the years with me, prove his ability to manage people and production measures to exemplary levels,” Barton said.
Set to graduate Wednesday, May 23, Burke is enrolled in the Honors College at Northern Arizona University. He will major in journalism and political science with a minor in photojournalism and documentary studies.
Burke is a member of Arizona Interscholastic Press Association, the National Scholastic Press Association, the National Scholastic Press Association Journalism Honor Roll, Columbia Scholastic Press Association and Quill & Scroll International Honorary Society for High School Journalists.
Being a good journalist is not simply attending meetings and reporting what officials say, nor showing up, shooting photos and heading home. Anyone with a good ear can be a wallflower reporter. Community journalism requires reporters to be involved and invested in their communities and see how government and civic programs work from the inside.
To this, Burke was formerly a member of the Sedona Police Explorers and is currently a student of the Yavapai College Fire Academy. The cover of the April 19 edition of The Sting — which Burke also shot — shows Burke and two fellow firefighting students in their turnouts.
Both programs give youth guidance should they pursue law enforcement or fire science, fields that journalists interact with on daily basis when covering emergencies in their communities. Having a background in these fields and knowing the procedures of civil servants in uniform will assist him when he arrives on a chaotic scene for a breaking news photo assignment.
“Brian takes great pride in everything he does and works diligently to maintain excellence in his relationships with others,” Barton said. “His attitude is positive, his conduct is professional, and his kindness and goodness radiate. His sincere passion for life clearly makes him a candidate for betterment, and his humble approach will not make it important for him to be recognized for any great accomplishment — his goal is just to make a difference and improve the world in some way through his lens and words. He is genuine.”
During his high school career, Burke also regularly appeared in our newspaper on the Sports page as a member of the SRRHS varsity boys soccer team. He was also on the varsity cheer team and supports his sports interests through volunteer efforts and fundraising projects.
He has taken Advanced Placement and Honors courses, participated in the 2017 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Camp, was chosen as the Valley Academy for Career and Technology Education Student of the Month in October 2016 and won four Arizona Interscholastic Press Association Awards for individual works.
“Through his efforts in class and on staff, I have watched Brian develop proficiency in understanding the ethics and responsibilities of teamwork, and I have noted how well he also works individually on assigned tasks,” Barton said. “He does everything appointed to him or asked of him with style and ease, and every assignment or project he attaches his name to is done to the best of his abilities with total attention to detail while following journalism ethics and personal integrity.”
Burke has always been able to help us out in a pinch. When we came up short with photos from the recent SRRHS scholarship night, I texted him. Within only a few hours, he supplied photos shot by his parents with captions identifying all of his fellow classmates.
Tenacity is a valuable trait for any journalist, and Burke has more than enough. We quietly made our decision to award Burke the scholarship several months ago, but like any good journalist, he was dogged in following up on when the scholarship would be awarded and inquiring about how and when to apply.
At the Sedona Red Rock News, we hope to see Burke advance in his career and know that whatever newspaper or news outlet hires him after his graduation will be rewarded with a hardworking, dedicated and committed journalist. We are glad that our summer internship and scholarship could further his career in our field.
We wish him the best of luck at NAU and look forward to see what photos he shoots next.
Christopher Fox Graham can be reached at 282-7795 ext. 129, or email editor@larsonnewspapers.com
