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John S. and James L. Knight Foundation funds journalistic endeavors at the Missouri School of JournalismSee also: Knight Foundation donates $3.4 million to ASNE Knight Foundation's signature work is its Journalism program. Through 2005, the foundation has approved almost 800 grants totaling more than $260 million. The journalism program has a global reach and clear goals: To protect and expand press freedom and to encourage journalism excellence at home and abroad. They are based on the premise that new media as well as traditional have the obligation to meet the highest standards of journalistic excellence. We define journalism excellence as the accurate, fair contextual pursuit of truth. Since 1986, the foundation has made a series of major grants to support midcareer education, primarily journalism fellowship programs at prominent universities, including Columbia, Harvard, Maryland, MIT, Michigan, the University of Southern California, the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford. All have been independently evaluated and have received high marks for effectiveness. Some have been endowed; others have received operating grants. Read about some recent efforts of NFOIC grantees. Through its education and training priority, the Journalism Program continues to emphasize education for current and future journalists; aims to increase the impact and number of journalists reached by existing programs; and encourages the news industry to increase its investment in training. Current grants include: University of Missouri Systems—$2.28 million…to establish a permanent home for the Committee of Concerned Journalists. Since 1997, in conversations with thousands of news people and through the book, "The Elements of Journalism," the Committee of Concerned Journalists has helped journalists rediscover their passion for the values of quality journalism. In 2001, a Knight pilot grant created the "Traveling Curriculum," a training program designed to take the committee's standard-setting work directly into newsrooms. The training, designed with teaching experts at Stanford University, reached some 5,500 journalists from 100 news organizations during its first three years. Training sessions are followed by six-month reviews to push for and review tangible results. A formal assessment program by researchers at Stanford has established concrete changes at every newsroom to date. The web site www.journalism.org averages 32,000 unique visitors a month. With this grant, the committee will move to the University of Missouri. There, it will train at least 4,000 additional journalists during the next three years as it develops a "fee for service" model for the training.
University of Missouri Systems—$1.5 million…to endow a Knight Chair in Editing. The University of Missouri school of journalism pioneered journalism education, and enjoys a reputation for excellence both off campus and on. Income from the endowment was matched by university funds to create the Knight Chair and a Knight Center for Editing Excellence. The chair and program in editing will give the journalism school the resources to be a world-class center for teaching and research on editing, which is even more crucial in an age of online technology. The Knight Chair will facilitate outreach programs for editors at all levels from copy editors to editorial directors. The chairholder will create a model program for teaching by working with faculty and industry professionals to develop editing curriculum models. The chair will also oversee an applied research program on the changing roles of editors and develop ways to attract talented students to editing careers. The Knight Chair is Jacqui Banaszynski, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and Seattle Times editor.
University of Missouri Systems—$1.7 million…to establish a new home for the National Freedom of Information Coalition and expand its ability to support state groups. Many open government battles occur in states and cities. With this grant, the National Freedom of Information Coalition will see to it that nonprofit freedom of information groups are present in all 50 states. In addition to starting groups in 10 states without them, NFOIC will award grants to existing groups to publish guides, start hotlines and run workshops and forums. This grant will enable the NFOIC to move to the Missouri School of Journalism and be housed in the National Freedom of Information Center. |
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