Bivins Fellowship winners named

The National Association of Real Estate Editors named Alan J. Heavens of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Seattle-based freelance writer Jane Hodges, who writes for Dow Jones and the Seattle Times, as the winners of the Sixth Annual NAREE Bivins Fellowship.

The NAREE Bivins Fellowship entries were independently judged by Professor George Harmon, head of the Business Writing Program at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. NAREE announced award recipients at its Fall Summit in Las Vegas.

Heavens will use the funding to create a college-level program to provide Internet training for journalists to deliver real estate news to their readers. The sessions will begin at Temple Real Estate Institute at Temple University, where Heavens teaches, and later be offered online. Heavens was awarded $3,500.

“Newspapers need to build intensely local web sites that provide a wealth of real estate information. This new training will equip journalists to deliver vital real estate content to their readers,� Harmon said.

The other winner, Jane Hodges, was awarded $1,500 to further her investigation into the social impact of single women buying homes. She will edit a book on the topic, accompanied by an Internet platform and a blog.

“Clearly she has the capacity and the will to produce a fine book. She has great clips and is a graceful writer,� Harmon said.