Undergraduate Marianna Spring Awarded Ronnie Payne Prize for Outstanding Foreign Reporting

NEWS |

Third year undergraduate in French and Beginners’ Russian, Marianna Spring, has been awarded The Ronnie Payne Prize from the Philip Geddes Trust. This £2k prize, awarded in recognition of outstanding work in student journalism, will enable Marianna to continue to develop her experience in reporting abroad.

Marianna reported for her local newspaper for four years before coming to Oxford and she is currently the Editor of the Cherwell (Oxford's independent student newspaper). During her year abroad, she reported for the Moscow Times, The Local in Paris and Le Tarn Libre. More recently she has reported for Private Eye and worked at the Guardian News Desk, achieving bylines both online and in print.

In response to receiving the award, she said:

‘I am delighted to have been awarded the Ronnie Payne Prize. I loved reporting in both France and Russia during my year abroad and so it is brilliant to be recognised for this. The prize money enables me to continue doing what I love and I hope to continue reporting abroad long after I finish my studies.

With global harmony in jeopardy, it is increasingly important that we know and understand what is going in countries other than our own in order to understand both their politics and people. It's for that reason that I plan to conduct a series of interviews with Russian women for the Moscow Times or the Guardian.

I would like to thank The Geddes Trust for this award, I am very grateful.’

Congratulations, Marianna! Keep up to date with her work by following @mariannaspring on Twitter.