Poynter is Selected by U.S. State Department to Host Prestigious Edward R. Murrow Fellows in Digital Storytelling and Leadership Skills Development

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Poynter Institute, a global leader in journalism education, has been selected to host this year's prestigious Edward R. Murrow program participants at its headquarters in St. Petersburg, Florida this November.

The Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists, part of the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program, promotes the support of responsible and discerning journalism that exemplifies the work of revered broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow. The Murrow program is implemented by World Partnerships.

"We're honored that the State Department has entrusted Poynter with its training needs in support of one of the most coveted journalism programs in the world," said Poynter President Tim Franklin. "The Murrow program participants are a distinguished group of journalists who are doing vital work for their citizens, and many of them are doing it under very difficult circumstances."

The workshop will be conducted by Poynter faculty, as well as former alums of the International Visitor Leadership Program.

"The Edward R. Murrow program explores the American view of journalism and its role in a democratic society, and we are pleased to partner with Poynter to offer academic seminars and field activities conducted through the prism of digital journalism," said Mara Tekach, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Professional and Cultural Exchanges at the U.S. State Department.

Topics for the workshop include, among others: multimedia interactive skill building, digital tools, writing skills, ethical choices and leadership lessons, sharing good content over social media and the world-wide fact-checking revolution.

The State Department is one of over 20 organizations to partner with Poynter in recent months.  Poynter's other partners include Google, Gannett, Univision, McClatchy, Journal Media, The Associated Press, National Geographic and the Institute of International Education's Fulbright Scholar program.

About The Poynter Institute The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in journalism education and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and at conferences and organizational sites around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, www.newsu.org, offers the world's largest online journalism curriculum in 7 languages, with more than 400 interactive courses and 330,000 registered users in more than 200 countries. The Institute's website, www.poynter.org, produces 24-hour coverage of news about media, ethics, technology, the business of news and the trends that currently define and redefine journalism news reporting. The world's top journalists and media innovators come to Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcast producers, and to build public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and protected discourse that serves democracy and the public good.

Contact: Kim Tobin
Marketing Communications Strategy Manager
The Poynter Institute
[email protected]
727-553-4707

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150413/198076LOGO

SOURCE The Poynter Institute