2005 Daniel Pearl Intern Chosen
Will Oremus |
Will Oremus, a senior, was selected from among 12 applicants for the position. Oremus will work in the London bureau of the Wall Street Journal this autumn.
The internship was established to commemorate the work and ideals of Pearl, Stanford graduate and Wall Street Journal foreign correspondent who was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002.
In an essay written as part of the application process, Oremus described his affinity for Pearl's work: "In a time of red states and blue states - a time when televised shouting matches between liberal and conservative ideologues pass for political journalism - the world could benefit from having more people like Daniel Pearl. He didn't approach controversial topics by getting quotes from the loudest and most intractable voices on each side of the debate. He approached regular people. He learned their hopes and fears and conveyed their struggles in his articles. In doing so, he gave readers fuller, deeper and more human stories than they could ever get from the talking heads.
Oremus was editor-in-chief of the Stanford Daily during the fall and winter. He has had previous internships at the San Jose Mercury News and the Las Vegas Sun. He is from Columbus, Ohio.
A committee of Communication Department faculty members evaluated applicants for the internship. The final decision was made by the Wall Street Journal.
Pearl, a 1985 graduate of Stanford's Department of Communication, was kidnapped in Karachi on January 23, 2002, while working on a story retracing the steps of "shoe bomber" Richard Reid. A month later, on Feb. 21, his captors released a videotape of his slaying. He was 38.
Will Oremus' winning essay: