ST. PETERSBURG, FLA., — News University (www.newsu.org), an innovative Web site designed to help journalists improve their work, launches today after 18 months of development and use by 2,000 early adopters of this new form of training.
The NewsU site is produced by a team from The Poynter Institute, which also hosts Poynter Online (www.poynter.org), the nation’s most popular Web site for journalists. NewsU’s creation was funded by a five-year, $2.8 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
News University works in concert with leading journalism organizations and journalism schools to offer three types of e-learning:
- Self-directed classes that journalists can complete at their own pace.
- Faculty-moderated seminars that are scheduled over the course of days or weeks.
- Live eSeminars that are broadcast over the Internet.
In addition, NewsU will provide links to other online learning opportunities through the site’s “Cool Links” section. “Cool Links” will connect users to the best of what the nation’s top journalism schools have to offer, including the web sites of the Knight Chairs in Journalism.
NewsU’s course topics range from basic reporting and writing skills, such as interviewing and lead writing, to visual journalism, such as using color in news design, as well as courses for newsroom managers. NewsU is launching with nearly 20 courses and will continue to add more to meet the training needs of busy journalists.
“Our aim is to provide self-directed learning that is engaging and relevant. We don’t think it will replace other forms of training. We think it will make journalists want even more training,” said Howard Finberg, director, interactive learning, The Poynter Institute/NewsU. He will demonstrate the project Wednesday (April 13) at the annual convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors in Washington, D.C. “NewsU is also unique because of its use of interactivity. There is no reason learning can’t be fun,” said Finberg.
News University comes in the wake of a 2002 Knight-funded survey showing that eight in 10 journalists in all media want more training. To meet those needs, NewsU has designed tightly focused, interactive courses that journalists can complete on their own schedule. Early results show NewsU’s success. Four out of five early NewsU participants said the pilot courses they completed were useful in their profession.
“E-learning is new. But because of the wonder of the World Wide Web, we all can watch it unfold together,” said Eric Newton, Knight Foundation’s director of Journalism Initiatives. “NewsU is a place where journalists and teachers will get to try new ways of learning and teaching.”
Current NewsU course partners include the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Asian American Journalists Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma, the Online News Association, the Association of Health Care Journalists, Reznet and the Society of Environmental Journalists. Partners for future courses include Investigative Reporters and Editors, the American Copy Editors Society and the National Conference of Editorial Writers.
“Poynter is the driving and facilitating force in meeting the growing demand for journalism training,” said Karen Brown Dunlap, president of The Poynter Institute. “We are proud to work closely with journalism associations and the industry at large to deliver compelling and cost-efficient training offerings for journalists.”
About News University
News University (www.newsu.org) offers newsroom training to journalists and journalism students through its interactive e-learning program and links to other journalism education and training opportunities. The program is a project of The Poynter Institute funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute (www.poynter.org) is a school for journalists, future journalists and teachers of journalism. Poynter conducts about 50 seminars annually in the areas of leadership and management, reporting and writing, broadcast, ethics and diversity, and visual journalism. The school owns the Times Publishing Co., the parent company of the St. Petersburg Times, Congressional Quarterly and other publications.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities. One of its signature programs is Journalism Initiatives. Since 1950, when Knight Foundation was created, the foundation has approved more than $250 million in journalism grants.