CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A scholarship program for Austin Peay State University journalism students is entering its third year, helping to provide additional coverage of local news while training up the next generation of community journalists.

The Local Government News Scholarship is supported by Blackhorse Pub & Brewery and Wendy’s of Clarksville. Each business has fully funded a one-semester annual internship at Clarksville Now, with the focus on local government coverage.

Blackhorse co-owner Jeff Robinson proposed the scholarship, to help increase the amount of local journalism in Clarksville. Blackhorse supported the fall semesters in 2024 and 2025, and Wendy’s the spring semesters in 2025 and 2026. Their support goes 100% to the internships.

This has been a significant expansion of the existing news internship program at Clarksville Now, which previously consisted of one internship each summer. This brought the total to three internships per year.

The interns are selected from applicants pursuing journalism in the APSU Communications program. They work part-time during the semester under the guidance of Clarksville Now editors and reporters, and their internship is eligible for college course credit.

“This added resource for local news have made a real difference in our reporting,” said Chris Smith, editor-in-chief of Clarksville Now. “It has allowed us to expand our attention to more government agencies, with dozens of additional articles each year, and to deeper our investigative work. It has also broadened our recruiting pool.”

The fall 2025 intern, Jazmin Logan, was subsequently hired as a full-time Clarksville Now reporter, focused on courts and schools. She now helps train new interns in the program.

“As a free, advertising-supported news operation, we can’t do our work without the support of local businesses like Blackhorse and Wendy’s,” Smith said. “It makes me proud of our community when I see businesses come together like this to build a better Clarksville.”

APSU journalism students interested in the fall or spring semester Local Government News Scholarship internship should email their resume and cover letter to csmith@clarksvillenow.com.

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