Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Freedom Forum Diversity Institute graduates 5th class of journalism fellows
Printer-friendly page
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The fifth class of seven journalism fellows graduated April 16 from the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute, a training program at Vanderbilt University designed for people of color who want to become journalists but have not had formal journalism training. After graduating from the 12-week program, fellows will join the staffs of their sponsoring newspapers as full-time journalists.
"We are delighted to send seven new journalists into daily newspaper newsrooms to make a difference in their communities," said Wanda Lloyd, executive director of the Diversity Institute.
"We congratulate the editors of these seven newspapers who took risks by identifying mid-career professionals for training. Now the challenge is for more daily newspapers to make a commitment to finding non-traditional people as a way to increase staff diversity and thus accuracy in news content."
Among the seven Diversity Institute graduates are:
- Leonard Thornton, who retired in 2003 after a 25-year career with Otis Elevator and will embark on a new career as a journalist at his hometown newspaper, the Times-Mail in Bedford, Ind.;
- Shauna Watkins, a Spelman College graduate who was working in retail sales but now becomes a reporter at The Reporter-Times in Martinsville, Ind.; and
- Shanika Williams, a new copy editor for The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News who, prior to attending the Diversity Institute, had obtained a degree in English from Marymount University and was teaching literature in Fairfax County, Va. "I just want to become a part of the community that delivers news to the world," Williams said.
Diversity Institute fellows are people seeking a mid-career change or recent college graduates who did not major in journalism. Applicants 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 completed the program, which consists of 12 weeks of hands-on training introducing the fellows to all aspects of print journalism — reporting, writing, editing, visual journalism, media ethics and journalism history.
This class brings the total number of Diversity Institute graduates to 42 since the program began in June 2002. The next class begins June 6.
Diversity Institute fellows are taught at the John Seigenthaler Center, a 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 graduates at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute and their sponsoring newspapers:
- Marcela Creps, The Herald Times, Bloomington, Ind.
- Margaret Anne Davis, South Bend (Ind.) Tribune
- Joe Manuel Rodriguez, San Angelo (Texas) Standard-Times
- Leonard Thornton Sr., Times-Mail, Bedford, Ind.
- Shauna Watkins, The Reporter-Times, Martinsville, Ind.
- Rochelle Williams, The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer
- Shanika Williams, The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News
For additional information about the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute, including application information, visit its Web site (www.diversityinstitute.org).
The Freedom Forum, based in Arlington, Va., is a nonpartisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. The foundation focuses on three priorities: the Newseum, First Amendment issues and diversity in U.S. daily newspaper newsrooms.
