Poynter Names Nationally Recognized Editor and Educator, Timothy Franklin, as Its New President

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Jan. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Poynter Institute, a global leader in journalism, announced today that its next president will be Timothy A. Franklin, a nationally recognized editor and educator.

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Franklin is managing editor of Bloomberg News in Washington. Previously, he was the editor of three metropolitan newspapers, and he was the founding director of the National Sports Journalism Center at Indiana University.

"Tim brings a wealth of experience in journalism across all platforms, and a strong background in journalism education," said Paul Tash, the chairman of the Poynter Institute trustees. "For everyone who cares about journalism as a foundation of democracy, this is excellent news."

Franklin will become Poynter's fifth president since the institute was founded in 1975. He succeeds Karen Dunlap, who is retiring after a decade as president.

Franklin graduated from Indiana University, where he edited the daily student newspaper and was recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists as the top college journalism student in the country.  He was named an Indiana University School of Journalism Distinguished Alum in 2012, an award that recognizes the profession's leaders.

He started his career at the Chicago Tribune, and then was the top editor at the Indianapolis Star, the Orlando Sentinel and the Baltimore Sun. For the last 2 ½ years, he has helped to direct daily news coverage from Bloomberg's bureau in Washington, which has some 200 journalists.

Between the newspapers and Bloomberg, Franklin launched the nation's leading academic program for sports media students at Indiana University.  Under Franklin's direction, the center established partnerships with the nation's two largest sports media organizations.

Brad Hamm, dean of I.U.'s journalism school when the program launched, said of Franklin's leadership: "Every month we were better than the month before. Tim kept improving areas and developing new ideas."

Hamm, now dean at Northwestern and a Poynter trustee, added, "It's hard for me to imagine a more ideal person to lead Poynter. He has skills and experience across all areas."

Franklin is married to Alison Franklin, an attorney who has practiced in Florida. They have twin children, a son who is a junior at Duke University, and a daughter who is a junior at Elon University in North Carolina.

About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute is a school and media strategy center dedicated to teaching and inspiring journalists and leaders since 1978. Based in St. Petersburg, Florida, Poynter's reach extends around the globe: through Poynter's News University online with more than 195,000 registered users in 225 countries, to in-person courses now offered in India. The Poynter Institute trains journalism practitioners, media leaders, educators and citizens in the areas of online and multimedia, leadership and management, reporting, writing and editing, TV and radio, ethics and diversity, journalism education and visual journalism. Poynter's website, (http://www.poynter.org) is the dominant provider of journalism news, with a focus on business analysis and the opportunities and implications of technology.

The institute also owns the Times Publishing Company, which publishes the Tampa Bay Times and Florida Trend magazine. Franklin will become a director of the company.

CONTACT:
Michelle Bauer Hunt
484-385-2922
[email protected]

SOURCE The Poynter Institute