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Voting Rights

National News21 released a project in August 2012 that examined the impact of recent extensive changes in election laws and voting procedures in many states.

Foundations support News21 fellows: The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York have provided millions of dollars in funding for News21 since the program's inception in 2005. For a history of News21, go to cronkite.asu.edu/experience/news21.

Other support comes from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation and the Hearst Foundations. The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation provides funding for six students each year from the Cronkite School and the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication to participate in News21. The Hearst Foundations' gift provides support for an additional three students to participate. For more information, visit cronkite.asu.edu/node/2615.

The nationally acclaimed Carnegie-Knight News21 program, created by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is open to all journalism schools in the U.S.

How It Works:

During the spring semester, students take part in:

• An Issues Seminar. Approved fellows from participating universities take part in a weekly issues seminar in the spring semester taught by Professor Leonard Downie Jr., the school’s Weil Family Professor of Journalism and former executive editor of The Washington Post. The seminar immerses students in the topic to be investigated by News21 in the summer. Fellows may participate in the spring seminar via videoconference for credit or may monitor the course without enrolling. However, all fellows must fully participate and complete all work to Professor Downie’s satisfaction. The next seminar will begin Jan. 7, 2013 and conclude April 30.
• An Accountability Journalism class. News21 fellows also may elect to participate via videoconference in Professor Downie’s weekly Accountability Journalism class during the spring semester. This is optional but strongly encouraged.

During the summer, fellows work out of a digital newsroom at the Cronkite School for 10 weeks, typically beginning in mid to late May and ending in late July or early August. Fellows receive a $7,500 stipend plus travel expenses and work under a team of journalism leaders that include:

• An Executive Editor to be named. Previous projects have been led by Sharon Rosenhause, former managing editor of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and Kristin Gilger, Cronkite’s associate dean and former deputy managing editor for news at The Arizona Republic.
• Digital Editor. Retha Hill, the former vice president for digital at BET, a founding editor of washingtonpost.com and the current director of Cronkite’s Digital Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab, is the newsroom’s digital leader, collaborating with students on how to best tell their investigative stories in innovative and compelling ways on multiple platforms.
• Editorial Consultant. Downie provides regular consulting to the newsroom from Phoenix and Washington.
• Computer-Assisted Reporting Editor. Steve Doig, a Pulitzer Prize-winning computer-assisted reporting specialist at The Miami Herald who now serves as the Knight Chair in Journalism at Cronkite, provides data expertise and support to the News21 fellows.
• Technology Director. Nic Lindh, the Cronkite School’s technologist in residence, supervises digital content for the project and assists students with technology needs.
• Web Developer. Micah Jamison, chief Web developer for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab, works with fellows throughout the summer to help operationalize their digital visions and innovations.
• Copy Editor. Cronkite News Service Washington bureau director Steve Crane, a longtime Washington editor and former University of Maryland assistant dean.
• Oversight. Associate Dean Kristin Gilger, former deputy managing editor of The Arizona Republic, provides administrative oversight.

How to Apply:

All program costs are covered except salary and travel stipends for individual fellows. The latter costs are to be covered by the participating schools. To apply, schools should:

• Submit a letter of nomination from the program dean or director by Nov. 1. Nominees should be top journalism students (graduate or advanced undergraduates) who have completed intermediate- and advanced-level reporting courses and a fundamental multimedia journalism course. Students should be able to work well in a team environment. The nomination letter from the dean’s or director’s office should vouch for the applicant(s) and include contact information and links to portfolios or work samples. Fellows nominated by their schools are subject to final approval by News21.
• Commit to providing $10,000 for each fellow’s salary and travel. Some schools have used existing scholarship or special funds to support their fellows while others have garnered new support through naming opportunities. In the latter circumstance, the supporter will be credited in the byline or credit line for the student’s work (i.e., the Jane Smith News21 Fellow or the Jones Corp. News21 Fellow).
• Schools may submit applications for multiple fellows. Recent fellows have come from a dozen journalism schools, including Arizona State University, Elon University, Harvard University, Syracuse University. University of Florida, University of Maryland, University of Missouri, University of Nebraska, University of Oklahoma, University of Oregon, University of North Carolina and University of Texas.

The Cronkite School will notify schools of approval of their fellows by Nov. 30.

Applications can be emailed to kristin.gilger@asu.edu or mailed to: News21, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Arizona State University, 555 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, Ariz., 85004.

Housing will not be provided, but university dormitory housing is available on ASU’s downtown Phoenix campus next to Cronkite building.

Benefits

The benefits of News21 to the fellows are proven: Students receive an unparalleled experience working one-on-one with some of the best journalism minds in the country on in-depth and digitally innovative projects and receive unprecedented national distribution and recognition of their work. Past News21 fellows have an employment placement record – both qualitatively and quantitatively – that is far superior to both the national averages and the placements of peers within their institutions.

The benefit to participating schools is equally striking. The News21 program, with its focus on depth and innovation, experiential learning and important national projects, has permeated throughout the 12 original News21 schools. Those deans and directors report a dramatic transformation of their curricula in recent years, due in large part to the lessons learned in News21.

For More Information:

Contact Cronkite Associate Dean Kristin Gilger at kristin.gilger@asu.edu or 602.496.9448.

Big Journalism On Campus

Leonard Downie Jr., vice-president-at-large and former editor of The Washington Post, writes about how journalism schools are producing high-level reporting that is making its way into major news outlets.