Freedom Forum Names 18 Chips Quinn Scholars for Spring 2011 Internship Program

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Jan. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Eighteen journalists from diverse backgrounds have been named Chips Quinn Scholars for spring 2011 by the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute and participating news organizations. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Chips Quinn Scholars program, which began with six scholars in 1991.

Chips Quinn Scholars are college students or recent graduates pursuing journalism careers. After completing an intensive orientation and training program with veteran journalists, which takes place Jan. 20 to 28 at the Freedom Forum's John Seigenthaler Center in Nashville, Tenn., they will work in 10- to 12-week internships or full-time jobs at 15 participating news organizations.

"These Chips Quinn Scholars bring much-needed diversity to newsrooms throughout the nation and help to raise the quality of journalism with their fresh perspectives and distinctive backgrounds," said Jack Marsh, president and chief operating officer, Freedom Forum Diversity Institute.

Since the program began, a total of 1,225 men and women have been placed as reporters, copy editors, photographers, graphic artists and multimedia journalists. Scholars are eligible for financial support and ongoing mentoring from the Freedom Forum.

"We have enjoyed a long relationship with Chips Quinn because of our success in finding top-notch interns and, in several cases, long-term hires from among the program scholars," said Mark Treinen, managing editor of the Wausau Daily Herald in Wausau, Wis. "The Chips Quinn scholars bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives to our newsroom, train rising stars in journalism and develop relationships that can help with future recruitment efforts."

The training sessions in Nashville will include presentations and instruction by experienced journalists and industry leaders. Among the speakers are John C. Quinn, founder of the Chips Quinn Scholars program; Ken Paulson, president and chief executive officer of the First Amendment Center; Jack Marsh, president and chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute; Val Hoeppner, director of education for the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute; Mark Luckie, national innovations editor at The Washington Post; career coaches Colleen Fitzpatrick and Mary Ann Hogan; and six Chips Quinn alumni: Danese Kenon, multimedia journalist at The Indianapolis Star; Getahn Ward, health-care business and commercial real estate reporter at The Tennessean; Julie Hubbard, education reporter at The Tennessean; Sue Stock, retail reporter, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.; Jamesetta Walker, assistant city editor and style columnist at The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk; and Rhina Guidos, social network editor/niche products, The News Journal, Wilmington, Del.

The Chips Quinn Scholars program (freedomforumdiversity.org/chips-quinn/) is a major initiative of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute to help news organizations increase diversity in their newsrooms. For more information on Freedom Forum diversity programs, visit freedomforumdiversity.org.

Former Freedom Forum trustee John C. Quinn and his late wife, Loie, established the Chips Quinn Scholars program in memory of their son, John C. "Chips" Quinn Jr., who was managing editor of the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal when he died in an automobile accident in 1990 at the age of 34.

The spring 2011 Chips Quinn Scholars, their schools and sponsoring media organizations are:

David Acosta

University of Texas at El Paso

Scripps Howard Foundation Wire (Washington, D.C.)

Amaris Bailey

Louisiana Tech University

The News-Star (Monroe, La.)

Katrina Barlow

Whitman College

Walla Walla (Wash.) Union-Bulletin

Andrea Castillo

Northwestern University

The Macon (Ga.) Telegraph

Melvin Felix

New York University

Scripps Howard Foundation Wire (Washington, D.C.)

Elizabeth Gamez

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock)

Caryn Grant

Howard University

The Macon (Ga.) Telegraph

Rigoberto Hernandez

San Francisco State University

The Orange County (Calif.) Register

Adam Lau

San Francisco State University

The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.)

Augusta Liddic

University of North Texas

Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader

Carlos Lopez

New Mexico State University

The Santa Fe New Mexican

Lindsay Machak

Michigan State University

The Times (Munster, Ind.)

Jacob Muselmann

University of Kansas

Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald

My Nguyen

San Jose State University

Patch.com

Jacelle Ramon-Saubera

University of Arizona

Patch.com

Yesenia Robles

University of Colorado at Boulder

The Denver Post

Josh Sanchez

University of the Incarnate Word

The Union Democrat (Sonora, Calif.)

Devo'n Williams

Johnson C. Smith University

The Bulletin (Bend, Ore.)

SOURCE Freedom Forum Diversity Institute