Tuesday, June 08, 2004

Freedom Forum Diversity Institute welcomes 6th class of journalism fellows

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Freedom Forum Diversity Institute welcomed its sixth class of journalism fellows Sunday evening, June 6. The 12-week training program at Vanderbilt University is designed for people of color who want to become journalists but have not had formal journalism training.

Among the nine new Diversity Institute fellows are Mai Ly, a Web specialist who a earned a degree in English and history at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; Cynthia Franklin, who has taught English as a second language for 18 years; and Dana Arellano, who graduated from the University of California-San Diego in management science and philosophy and then worked as a field representative for U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.). Arellano represented Filner at events in Imperial County as she helped identify community needs and ways to address them.

Upon completing the Diversity Institute program Ly will become a copy editor at The Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times, Franklin will become a reporter for the Houston Chronicle community newspapers, and Arellano will become a reporter at the Imperial Valley Press in El Centro, Calif.

"It's wonderful to see newspapers new to the Diversity Institute see the benefits of bringing new voices to their newsrooms and news pages," said Charles Overby, Freedom Forum chairman and chief executive officer. "It's also wonderful to see the diversity of size and geography of newspapers represented in this Summer class."

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 the nominees as full-time journalists after they have completed the program, which consists of 12 weeks of hands-on training in all aspects of print journalism — reporting, writing, editing, photography, ethics and other core values of journalism.

Since the Diversity Institute opened in June 2002, 42 fellows have graduated and gone on to daily newspaper newsroom careers.

Diversity Institute fellows are taught at the John Seigenthaler Center, a Freedom Forum facility on the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville. In addition to providing the training, the Freedom Forum gives participants housing and a small stipend during the program.

New fellows at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute and their sponsoring newspapers:

• Chris Amos — Carroll County Times, Westminster, MD.
• Dana Arellano — Imperial Valley Press, El Centro, Calif.
• Tarana Burke — The Selma (Ala.) Times-Journal
• Cynthia Franklin — Houston (Texas) Chronicle
• Elizabeth Green — Longview (Texas) News-Journal
• Elwin Green — Pittsburgh (Penn.) Post-Gazette
• Nishia Livingston — Wichita Falls (Texas) Times Record News
• Mai Ly — The Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times
• Anthony Pennington — The Norman (Okla.) Transcript

For additional information about the sixth Diversity Institute class or general information about the Institute — including application information — visit the Diversity Institute Web site.

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 main priorities: the Newseum, First Amendment issues and diversity in U.S. daily newspaper newsrooms.

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Diversity Institute at Vanderbilt University
Information on Freedom Forum Diversity Institute in Nashville, Tenn., to develop new pool of journalists of color.  02.16.09