“Abe Schechter Graduate Scholarship” – Abe Schechter, a true pioneer of radio news, became the first vice president of news for NBC. He began his career in newspapers, then moved to radio. During World War II, he became senior public relations officer for General MacArthur. He eventually returned to NBC where he helped create the Today show. From there, he became part owner of the Mutual Broadcasting System. In the 1960s Schechter founded a PR firm that he and his business partner, former RTDNF Trustee George Glazer subsequently sold to Hill & Knowlton. Schechter and his wife died in a car accident in 1989, and this $2,000 scholarship was established in his memory.

2011 Abe Schechter Graduate Scholarship Winner – Nadia Zaffar

Nadia Zaffar is a Presidential Fellow at Emerson College where she is pursuing a Master’s in Broadcast Journalism. She is also this year’s winner of the CNN Broadcast Journalism graduate scholarship awarded by the South Asian Journalist’s Association (SAJA). Nadia studied International Relations and Film Production at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. She was Chair of the Model United Nations MHC Chapter and received a number of awards for her participation.

Prior to joining Emerson College, Nadia worked as a TV journalist in Karachi, Pakistan. Nadia worked as an anchor and producer at DawnNews, Nadia was involved in some of the major news stories covered by the channel. She reported from the flood affected areas of Sindh in 2007 and presented and planned the special reports for General Elections 2008. Nadia also worked on documentaries at Business Plus TV and New York Times Television.

(From the RTDNA website: http://www.rtdna.org/pages/education/2011-scholarship-fellowship-winners.php)