Journalist and Educator Sarah Bartlett Honored As a 21st Century News Visionary

DENVER, Nov. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sarah Bartlett, dean of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, has been recognized by her peers as a 21st-century news visionary.

The distinction is presented by the Business News Visionary Awards, a project that bestows the "visionary" designation on select individuals whose dedication, foresight, and talents have had a transformative impact on the journalism profession.

A profile of Bartlett and her oral history are available at www.NewsLuminaries.com and will be featured in a commemorative book to be published in 2022.

A former member of the editorial teams at Fortune, BusinessWeek, The New York Times, and Oxygen Media, Bartlett has served as dean of the CUNY graduate J-School since January 2014. During her tenure, the school's enrollment has grown by more than 40%, and more than half of those currently attending are students of color.

Bartlett recently announced that she will retire from CUNY at the end of the academic year in June 2022.

"Dean Bartlett has helped build the school of journalism at CUNY into a beacon for the future of the field," CUNY chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodriguez said in a statement at the time of her announcement. "Her efforts will register for years to come, reflected in the school's stellar offerings, the success of its graduates, and the many important stories they'll tell."

The Business News Visionary Awards are a continuation of the Business News Luminary Awards, which, in 2000, honored the 100 top business and financial journalists of the 20th century.

Dean Rotbart, chair and editor-in-chief of both programs, noted that among Bartlett's many accomplishments, she oversaw the launch of the nation's first bilingual journalism master's program — offered in Spanish and English.

"Sarah was instrumental in raising nearly $70 million for new programs at the J-School, including a $20 million gift in 2018 from Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist," Rotbart writes. "In appreciation for his generosity, the school formally changed its name to the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York."

Each individual honored as a news visionary has unique traits. However, Rotbart states that Bartlett's skill set, in particular, stands out.

"Sarah knows how to mix concrete and lay bricks, an expertise she acquired in the early 1980s helping her late husband, John Petrarca, transform an incommodious, three-story building into a one-of-a-kind-home," Rotbart says. "Her construction talents are an apt metaphor for the foundation-building and renovations she oversaw at CUNY." 

Bartlett began her academic career in 2002 as the Bloomberg Chair of Business Journalism at Baruch College, then segued over to the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism as a charter faculty member when the new journalism school opened its doors in 2006. She became the school's second-ever dean, succeeding Stephen B. Shepard, with whom she previously worked when both of them were at BusinessWeek.

The goal of the Business News Visionary and News Luminary Awards extends beyond the celebration of the specific men and women who are profiled, explains Terri Thompson, the former director of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University.

"It is also to educate the public about the high standards to which these and so many other dedicated journalists have adhered and to offer a proven playbook for other journalists and journalism students to follow," says Thompson, who introduces each honoree's oral history.

Rotbart is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated, award-winning financial journalist, former columnist with The Wall Street Journal, and a journalism entrepreneur. He is the author of "September Twelfth: Ground Zero on 9/11 with The Wall Street Journal," available from Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/NineTwelve.

Along with a panel of more than two dozen distinguished nominating judges – including past award recipients and top business news organization editors and reporters – Rotbart is responsible for selecting the latest class of honorees.

The Business News Visionary and News Luminary Awards are made possible with the support of Monday Morning Radio, a weekly business-to-business podcast produced in cooperation with the nonprofit Wizard Academy, and The Dilenschneider Group, providing an unsurpassed level of communications counsel to global clients.

Additional support comes from TimeinaBottlePhotography.com, specializing in world-class portrait photography.

Media Contact:
Dean Rotbart
303-296-1200
[email protected] 

SOURCE Business News Visionary Awards