Bridgestone, sole supplier to the Formula One championship and the feeder GP2 Series, is offering young writers the chance of a lifetime when, for the fifth year running, they are searching for a young enthusiastic journalist to become their e-reporter.

The offer is open to all students across Europe who are aged between 18 and 30 who are in full time education. Whist looking for journalistic talent with the aim of launching their reporting career, it is not a prerequisite to be enrolled in a writing course, the offer open to all participants in any educational course. Whether students have a passion for motorsport, sports reporting, or simply a flair for writing, Bridgestone e-reporter aims to enhance the skills of students wishing to work in the world of media.

All entrants will need to demonstrate that they are capable of writing a newsworthy story and in order to asses this, they will need to submit a 300 word article as well as submitting a list of interview questions for the panel of highly-respected media experts and international journalists to judge. After this, a total of eight finalists will be selected and each will attend one European F1 Grand Prix weekend in order to report on the GP2 Series. All eight finalists will also be invited to the first European Grand Prix of the 2008 season, in Barcelona (25 – 27 April), to launch and celebrate the fifth year of the Bridgestone e-reporter competition.

The overall winner will then continue to work on Bridgestone-backed championships by covering the final round of the MotoGP in Valencia on the 26th of October as part of the competition prize. Bridgestone’s winner will also be awarded a laptop, work experience at a European motorsport magazine and attend a safety event for Bridgestone.

Students will need to enter online at www.bridgestone.eu/e-reporter  before  31th of March 2008. 

Bridgestone e-reporters continue to be successful in securing jobs within the media as a direct result of their involvement in the competition. Members of the growing e-reporter network now write for various European websites and publications either regularly or as contributors and at the end of the year, all  33 finalists from the last five years will be invited to attend a Bridgestone e-reporter reunion at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza – the 2008 GP2 Series finale – to showcase Bridgestone’s investment in the community and future of young journalists.

During the past five years, finalists have come from all over Europe including France, Germany, Italy, Finland, Malta, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Poland and the UK.

“We are very proud of the Bridgestone e-reporter competition and what it has achieved in recent years,” said Gerry Duffy, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Bridgestone Europe. “It shows Bridgestone’s investment in education and the future of students who have aspirations to work as journalists within a very competitive sporting environment. Bridgestone is celebrating five years of the competition in 2008 and look forward to bringing together a community of successful e-reporters at the Italian Grand Prix in September. This year we wish to see many more entries from students across Europe as universities recognise this as the ultimate opportunity for young writers to showcase their journalistic talent.”