The New York Times columnist known for his reporting from some of the world’s most deadly and horrific places is looking for a traveling companion. “Over the next month, I’ll be holding a contest to find a university student or two to accompany me on a reporting trip to the developing world,” Kristof writes in his pitch on the Times Select section of the paper’s Web site. “I’m not sure where yet, and that will depend partly on what’s in the news at the time. But to give you a sense of the kind of travel I’m thinking of, the possibilities include a jaunt through rural Burundi and Rwanda in central Africa, or an odyssey from the coast of Cameroon inland to the heart of the Central African Republic.”

The official public announcement of the contest will take place next Tuesday, but you can see the letter to TimesSelect subscribers and Kristof’s preliminary pitch over at Romenesko.

Sounds like an excellent opportunity for an aspiring journalist to go where Bill O’Reilly wouldn’t dare go. Kristof recently invited O’Reilly to Darfur, going so far as raising more than $700,000 from his readers to cover the Fox News man’s expenses. According to E&P, O’Reilly has declined to go, calling Kristof’s invite a gimmick. 

Well, this contest is a gimmick, too. But it’s a worthy one. I read Kristof’s column, and he seems to be one of the few American writers to travel and immerse himself in some of the world’s most critical, complex issues. If this trip can help draw more attention—and perhaps aid—to some heartbreaking region and give a young writer a break, that would be a good thing.