Freedom Forum Names 26 Chips Quinn Scholars for Summer 2010 Internship Program
NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Twenty-six students and young journalists from diverse backgrounds have been named Chips Quinn Scholars for summer 2010 by the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute and participating news organizations. Despite recent floods in the region, the Chips Quinn Scholar orientation and training will take place May 17-25 at the Freedom Forum's John Seigenthaler Center in Nashville, Tenn.
The 2010 scholars will work in paid internships at 22 different newsrooms across the country immediately following a weeklong orientation program and multimedia journalism class. They bring to 1,208 the number of men and women placed as reporters, copy editors, photographers, graphic artists and multimedia journalists since the program began with six Scholars in 1991.
"Diversity and relevant, responsible journalism are inseparable," said Jack Marsh, Freedom Forum vice president. "It's no coincidence that the nation's most vibrant, healthy news organizations are passionate about diversity, inclusiveness and fairness in both their news practices and their employment practices. The 2010 summer class of Chips Quinn Scholars, distinguished by different backgrounds and life experiences, should help to excite colleagues in the newsrooms where they work and improve coverage of the communities those newsrooms serve."
Chips Quinn Scholars are college students or recent graduates interested in journalism careers. After completing the intensive orientation and multimedia training program with veteran journalists, they will work in 10- to 12-week internships or in full-time jobs. Scholars are eligible for housing and travel stipends in addition to ongoing mentoring from the Freedom Forum.
"I have worked with the Chips Quinn Scholars program elsewhere and found it to be an excellent way to help keep editors focused on our mission of maintaining diverse newsrooms that reflect our communities," said Neill Borowski, executive editor and content director of The Press of Atlantic City. "When I joined The Press of Atlantic City last July and heard from the program, I was pleased to sign on to partner with its mission."
The training sessions in Nashville will include presentations and teaching by experienced journalists and industry leaders. Among the speakers are John C. Quinn, founder of the Chips Quinn Scholars program; John Seigenthaler, founder of the First Amendment Center; and Mark S. Luckie, journalist and author. Other speakers will include veteran alums of the program including Getahn Ward, health-care business reporter at The Tennessean; Sue Stock, retail reporter, The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C.; Jamesetta Walker, assistant city editor and style columnist at The Virginian-Pilot; Rick Jervis, Gulf Coast correspondent, USA TODAY; and Danese Kenon, photojournalist at The Indianapolis Star.
The Chips Quinn Scholars program (www.freedomforumdiversity.org) is an initiative of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute to help news organizations increase diversity in their newsrooms.
Freedom Forum former 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 summer 2010 scholars, their schools and sponsoring media organizations are:
Lindsey Bomnin
Emory University
Austin (Texas) American-Statesman
April Kim Choi
University of Missouri
The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.
Kimberly Chua
San Francisco State University
Bay Area News Group, San Francisco
Danielle Cintron
Louisiana Tech University
St. Cloud (Minn.) Times
Marie De Jesus
Universidad del Sagrado Corazon
Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle
Shannon Epps
Hampton University
The Washington Post
Eboni Farmer
Howard University
The Roanoke (Va.) Times
Ilissa Gilmore
Wayne State University
Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette
Lizbeth Gonzalez
California State University-Los Angeles
The Oakland (Calif.) Tribune
Trevor Hunnicutt
Pomona College
The Associated Press, San Francisco
Sophia Li
Brown University
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington, D.C.
Phillip Lucas
Howard University
The Washington Post
Taryn Luna
Oregon State University
The Dallas Morning News
Mark Mock
Wayne State University
Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle
Bethany Mollenkof
Western Kentucky University
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Ilena Morales
University of Florida
The Associated Press, Washington, D.C.
Madoree Pipkins
Benedict College
The Philadelphia Daily News
Amanda Portillo
University of Arizona
The Orange County Register, Santa Ana, Calif.
Wesley Robinson
University of Kentucky
The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.
Virginia Singarayar
Colorado State University
The Denver Post
Kelly Truong
Wellesley College
The Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington, D.C.
Roxana Vasquez
University of Arizona
St. Cloud (Minn.) Times
Jamila Williams
Ohio State University
The Morning Journal, Lorain, Ohio
Tiffany Williams
Tennessee State University
The Press of Atlantic City
June Wu
Harvard College
The Boston Globe
Molly Young
University of Nebraska
Star-Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.)
CONTACT: Karen Catone, 202/292-6271
SOURCE Diversity Institute
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