Institute For Local News At SUNY Looks To Connect Young Journalists With Struggling Newsrooms

[TTL News 311]

Quote

 

The State University of New York has launched a system-wide effort to have college students produce local news.

Pointing to numbers showing 80 million Americans live in news deserts, the Institute for Local News will link young journalists with media outlets across New York. SUNY says it’s the first initiative of its kind.

University of Vermont professor Richard Watts is a graduate of SUNY Cortland and Director of the Center for Community News at UVM. Watts has been tapped by SUNY to get the program up and running across the 64-campus system as interim coordinator.

“The State University of New York is this enormous system that has this opportunity to try and build these programs across multiple campuses,” he said.

Watts says programs like this can help reverse the growing loss of local news that experts say is contributing to a lack of trust in and engagement with democracy. 

Here’s how it works: a SUNY campus gives journalism students academic credit or funding to report under the supervision of a professional in collaboration with a media outlet. The student gets experience and the outlet gets news coverage it might not be able to offer otherwise. 

 

Read more about it here.

[Chris 2,184]

I heard this on NPR this morning and thought, "Of course they have."

 

[Ann 264]

And of course it will be fair and unbiased reporting.

[Chris 2,184]

It could be, if the editor is doing their job. Damn, I’d have given a test-, uh, anything to get a couple interns to be out doing beat stories 10 years ago. 

[LocalSportsGuy 43]

I recently worked for one of these "Struggling Newsrooms" and I can tell you their struggling not because they can't find people but because management refuses to actually pay anyone a decent wage. 

[Chris 2,184]

Thats been the case going back as far as I can remember. I remember talking to one tv reporter back in the 90’s who said they had to buy all their clothes, makeup, etc and by the time they were done with that there wasn’t a whole lot left. It’s why we’re this starting point and so many take off for bigger markets as soon as they can. ( Lately there’s at least one that I wish would. )