Tuesday, September 24, 2002
Diversity Institute welcomes 2nd group of 9 new fellows
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After a successful inaugural class last summer, the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute, a training program designed for people of color who want to become journalists but have not had formal journalism training, welcomes its second class of nine new fellows. Among the new group of Diversity Institute fellows are a restaurant manager who has worked in the food business for 10 years; an attorney and former armed services radio operator; and a National Guard staff sergeant who after a 20-year military career has decided to pursue his passion for journalism.
Diversity Institute fellows are people seeking a mid-career change. Candidates are nominated by newspaper editors, generally in the applicant’s hometown. Participating newspapers agree to hire their nominees as full-time journalists after they have successfully completed the program, which consists of 12 weeks of intensive training introducing the fellows to all aspects of print journalism — reporting, writing, editing, visual journalism, media ethics and journalism history.
The nine Diversity Institute fellows, some of whom have done free-lance work or completed internships at their sponsoring newspaper, will get their first formal training in interviewing sources, writing on deadline, capturing breaking news on film, or other skills needed for successful careers at daily newspapers.
Diversity Institute fellows are taught in a new Freedom Forum facility on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Participants are housed in campus apartments and receive a small stipend during the program. The Freedom Forum pays all expenses.
New fellows at Freedom Forum Diversity Institute and their sponsoring newspapers:
Contacts:
Wanda Lloyd, 615/727-1401
Mike Fetters, 703/284-2895