BOSTON -- WCVB-TV/DT Channel 5 and its parent company, Hearst-Argyle Television, will launch the creation of a scholarship fund for broadcast journalists, in recognition of Channel 5’s legendary anchor/reporter Natalie Jacobson. Representing $1,000 for each year of Jacobson’s service to the station, the fund will be seeded with $35,000, which will eventually be set up as a foundation in Jacobson’s honor. WCVB President and General Manager Bill Fine made the announcement at a station celebration for Jacobson following her final newscast on July 18. Jacobson is transitioning off the anchor desk to launch “My Next Big Thing,” a multimedia venture targeting baby boomers.

The initial recipients will be selected from Boston University, and from Jacobson’s alma mater, The University of New Hampshire. Fine will also announce the creation of a paid internship program at Boston University, honoring Jacobson and former WCVB News Director Jim Thistle. The internship honoring Jacobson will be awarded to a student pursuing a career as an on-air reporter/anchor. The recipient of the Thistle internship will be an aspiring producer/news manager. The two students selected annually will spend the summer working in WCVB’s newsroom. They will be chosen based on their academic record, determination and ambition to excel.

Jacobson joined WCVB in 1972, weeks before the station went on-air. She rose from reporter to the first woman anchor of an evening newscast in Boston. In her storied tenure at Channel 5, Jacobson, known as “Nat” to viewers, has anchored nearly every live major event in New England including the Queen’s visit to Boston in 1976, the Tall Ships Parade, Liberty’s birthday in New York Harbor, the visits of Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, 4th of July concerts on the Hatch Shell/Esplanade, the dedication of the JFK Library, the Patriots appearances in various Super Bowls and the year of the Red Sox in 2004.

One of the most respected and admired journalists in Boston broadcasting, Thistle has held leadership posts in newsrooms across the city, including several stints in political and special events producer roles and an eight year tenure as News Director at WCVB. He is now a Professor of Journalism at Boston University and Director of the Broadcast Journalism Program at the College of Communication and a frequent commentator and analyst on news media issues for local and national outlets.

WCVB President and General Manager Bill Fine said, “I can think of no better way to honor Natalie and Jim than to support the next generation of aspiring journalists. Nat and Jim have set the gold standard for broadcast journalists in this town and have been instrumental in making Boston one of the premier television markets in the country”.

Earlier this year WCVB became the first station in New England to broadcast its newscasts in high definition when it debuted a new, state-of-the art studio. Key portions of the existing standard definition set will be donated to BU for use in its broadcast journalism program, the campus wide BUTV 10, as well as student news magazine productions.

BU dean ad interim Tobe Berkovitz said, “We are honored to have this partnership with WCVB, one of the best local news stations in the country. We are pleased we could honor two legends in New England Television, Jim Thistle and Natalie Jacobson, and help students gain the skills to follow in their footsteps. “