Jan. 10, 2005

RESTON, Va. – As part of its national effort to grow scholastic newspapers and spark a passion for journalism among a diverse generation of teens, the American Society of Newspaper Editors is seeking high school teachers for an expenses-paid, two-week summer institute.

Nearly 160 teachers will be selected to attend the fifth annual ASNE High School Journalism Institute, which will take place at five universities. The application deadline is March 1.

There is no cost to the teacher or his/her school. Transportation, lodging, meals, materials, tuition and three graduate or continuing education credits are covered by ASNE with a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The five accredited journalism schools hosting ASNE Institutes in 2005 are:

• University of California at Berkeley, June 5-17.
• Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, July 10-22.
• Winthrop University, Rock Hill, S.C., July 10-22.
• University of South Florida, Tampa, July 17-29.
• University of Texas at Austin, July 17-29.

A brochure and application may be downloaded at: http://www.highschooljournalism.org/images/teachers/2005ASNEHSJInstituteApplication.pdf

Teachers who attend the institute shape the next diverse generation of journalists and reinforce the educational benefits of a high quality, vigorous scholastic press.

Core topics and skills workshops include: reporting; writing; editing; photojournalism; layout and design; journalism credibility and ethics; opinion pages; online technology; the role and future of daily newspapers; and the business side of newspapering.

First Amendment matters, privacy concerns and the state of scholastic press freedoms are also key topics. Dozens of newspaper professionals and scholastic journalism leaders are partnered with the universities, supplementing the faculty in leading the sessions.

Although most applicants will likely have an English, social studies or civics background, all academic disciplines are welcome. What counts most is a commitment to help students start or re-energize a newspaper and a desire to teach journalism and First Amendment issues.

Follow-up support is key to the program’s success. ASNE provides the teachers with paid membership to the Journalism Education Association, the Student Press Law Center and the teacher’s state or regional scholastic press group.

An academic-year subscription to the teacher’s local daily newspaper for use in the classroom is arranged, as are subscriptions to American Journalism Review, Columbia Journalism Review and The American Editor. Each teacher is also provided with the building blocks of a media library, including an AP Stylebook, a primer on scholastic press law, press ethics guides, a news writing text and a layout/design handbook.

For more information contact:

Diana Mitsu Klos, ASNE senior project director; 703-453-1125, dmk@asne.org