Ford Foundation Grant to Fund New Community and Ethnic Media Training Program at CUNY
The CUNY Graduate School of Journalism will establish a training program for journalists working in New York City’s ethnic and community press, funded by a $150,000 grant from The Ford Foundation. The CUNY J-School will supplement the funding for the two-year program through in-kind contributions of staff and technology.
“New York City’s 350-plus ethnic and community media organizations have been especially hard hit by the decline in print and broadcast revenues. They are operating with smaller budgets and are often unable to pay to train their shrinking staffs to learn the skills necessary to transition to web-based distribution and online content,” said CUNY J-School Founding Dean Stephen B. Shepard. “Fortunately, the new technologies present wonderful opportunities. We’re excited to be in a position to be able to support the members of New York’s diverse community and ethnic press, to help them regain their footing and prosper in this digital age of journalism.”
The Community and Ethnic Media Training Program, which will begin later this fall, will also host events on broader journalistic topics that will enable participants to integrate more fully with New York City’s mainstream journalism organizations. The CUNY J-School believes that a robust online business is critical to the long-term viability of the city’s ethnic and community media organizations, and that their success, in turn, is essential to an informed and engaged population, and ultimately to a thriving democracy.
Professor Sarah Bartlett, a former reporter for The New York Times, BusinessWeek, and Fortune, teaches in both the Urban and Business & Economics Reporting Programs at the School.
The project leader will be Garry Pierre-Pierre, founder and publisher of the Haitian Times, board member of the New York Press Association, and co-host of Independent Sources, CUNY-TV’s show about ethnic media.
For further information, please contact Dean Shepard at 646-758-7816; Professor Bartlett at 646-758-7822; or Project Leader Pierre-Pierre at 212-817-7586.
