This just in: In a world of steadily increasing college tuition rates, where the words “8-and-a-half percent” are enough to send any Saint Louis University student into hysterics, it is understandable that everyone is eager for a little financial help right now. Luckily, if you know where to look, that kind of help might be closer than you think.

A new scholarship, sponsored by the Mid-America Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and named after everyone’s favorite news anchor, Walter Cronkite, is now available for those interested in a future in television or film.

This prestigious award is bestowed on either one or two deserving students who exude an appropriate television presence. A total of $3,000 will be awarded, either as $3,000 to one student or split into a $1500 award for two students. All undergraduates are eligible to apply, but they must “exhibit a superior level of interest, talent and commitment to the [television] medium,” said Nicole Hollway, who is on the board of directors for the Mid-America Chapter of the NATAS. “This is a merit scholarship, and we want to find and encourage students who will become the television and film workforce of tomorrow,” she said.

If this sounds like you, then head to www.emmymid-america.org/Career.php for more information about how to apply. All applicants must fill out an application, submit a short essay, a r?sum?, two letters of recommendation, a transcript and samples of your creative work (details of all this are available on the application itself). A committee of professionals from various areas of the television and film industry will review the applications and decide the winner(s).

The scholarship is named for Cronkite, a native of St. Joseph, Mo., who climbed the ranks of CBS News to become one of the best-known and trusted news anchors in the history of broadcast television. He was one of the reporters who helped break the news of former-President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. When he denounced the Vietnam War during the late 1960s, current President Lyndon Johnson reportedly said, “If I’ve lost Walter Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.”

If you can see a future Walter Cronkite (or, for the ladies, perhaps a Katie Couric) in yourself, this scholarship is for you. Don’t wait to apply, though-the application deadline for The Walter Cronkite 2007 Scholarship is June 30.

For The University News, I’m Kat Patke. Goodnight.