World Journalism Institute

The World Journalism Institute (WJI) was founded by Robert Case II in 1999. WJI is an independent journalism school whose mission is to recruit, equip, place and encourage journalists who are Christians in the mainstream newsrooms of America. In 1998, Marvin Olasky, Nick Eicher, and Robert Case II discussed the possibility of establishing an independent school of journalism with Joel Belz, publisher of "World" magazine. The institute is currently the largest independent school of journalism for Christian journalists in the U.S. and is headquartered in New York City on the campus of The King's College.

WJI Courses, Conferences, Workshops and Seminars

Pursuant to the mission statement, WJI holds courses, conferences, workshops and seminars in the nation's media centers. Strategically located in New York City, the institute programs are offered around the country during the year. The multi-week, college-level courses are held in New York City. The week-end conferences are held in major American cities in conjunction with national journalism conventions (i.e., Associated Collegiate Press, etc.). The week-long workshops, such as the Urbana 06 convention daily newspaper, "Urbana Today", are held in various major American cities. In January 2009, the institute will hold the first ever pan-African journalism workshop for African Christian journalists. Finally, the institute occasionally offers seminars of particular interest, such as Amity Shlaes (Bloomberg News) and Alvin H. Rosenfeld (Indiana University).

WJI Teachers and Speakers

Institute speakers and teachers come from a broad and distinguished cross-section of the journalism community. Media organizations that have been represented in the institute programs include Indianapolis Star, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Los Angeles Times, The Nation, New Republic, Atlantic, CNN, Philadelphia Inquirer, National Review, Dallas Morning News, Washington Times, The Weekly Standard, Newsday, The New Yorker, WABC-TV (New York), Miami Herald, Christianity Today, New York Post, World, Spokesman Review, Portland Oregonian, Chicago Tribune, Charisma, ESPN, and many more.

From the Classroom to the Newsroom

WJI grads have interned and/or worked as reporters and editors for hundreds of print, broadcast and online news outlets including FOX News, ABC (Los Angeles), St. Petersburg Times, Indianapolis Star, New York Daily News, Chattanooga Free Press, World magazine, Newsday, Washington Times, NBC, MLB.com, MTV, Salem Broadcasting, Christianity Today, and Miami Herald.

WJI Internships

The institute offers generous, multi-month internships to its most promising graduates.

WJI Monographs

The institute publishes a unique series of thoughtful monographs on the intersection of Christianity and journalism. The series includes talks given by Carl F.H. Henry, David Aikman, Larry Woiwode, John McCandlish Phillips, [http://www.johnfountain.com John Fountain] , Joel Belz, Karima Haynes, Bryan Chapell, Marvin Olasky, Robert Case II, [http://www.ccel.us/newage.toc.html Russell Chandler] , Laura Greanias, [http://www.williamproctor.com William Proctor] , Russell Pulliam, Benjamin Hoak, Mark Bergin and Robert Russell Drake. All the monographs are free from the institute.

WJI Online Newspaper ("Times Observer")

The institute posts an online newspaper for the use of its graduates ( [http://www.wjitimesobserver.com "Times Observer"] ).

WJI Francis A. Schaeffer Scholar

In 2003, a teaching position was created to introduce the WJI journalism students to a coherent Christian worldview. The position was named in honor of the Christian thinker, Francis A. Schaeffer who promoted an integration of Christianity and the world of ideas and cluture. A number of prominent intellectuals have served as the Francis A. Schaeffer Scholar at the institute, including Nancy Pearcey who taught a worldview curriculum based on her book "Total Truth:Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity" (Crossway, 2004). William Edgar, Westminster Theological Seminary, is the FAS Scholar for the year 2007-2008. Other intellectuals who have taught the world view component at the institute include [http://www.labri.org/mass/profiles.html Dick Keyes] (L'Abri), Vishal Mangalwadi, James Kurth (Swarthmore College), David Clyde Jones (Covenant Theological Seminary), [http://www.bryan.edu/myers.html Jeff Myers] (Bryan College), William Dennison (Covenant College), Jack White (Geneva College), Guenther Haas (Redeemer University College), and R. Albert Mohler, Jr. (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary).

WJI John McCandlish Phillips Director of Mentoring

In 2006, a mentoring/teaching position was created to teach and mentor the WJI journalism students throughout the early years of their work. The position was named for the former New York Times reporter, John McCandlish Phillips. Phillips teaches for the institute but the position named for him is currently held by William Mattox.

2004 Controversy

In 2004 WJI came under fire and was [http://poynter.org/article_feedback/article_feedback_list.asp?user=195184 challenged by some critics] to cut its ties with Olasky after "USA Today" reporter Jack Kelley, [...] had been scheduled to speak at an institute luncheon around the time the newspaper's investigation of Kelley's fabricated stories concluded. Soon, questions were raised about other institute guest instructors. [...] A large part of the criticism stem [med] from "World" magazine's directed reporting philosophy, which call [ed] on Christian journalists to "'report biblically,' not objectively." (" [http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2004/123/51.0.html Christianity Today] " 6/11/04). (Olasky distinguished "biblical objectivity" from "conventional objectivity," which he said had become a "balancing of subjectivities.") WJI did reorganize its mission and philosophy but without cutting ties with Olasky.

External links

* [http://www.worldji.com/ World Journalism Institute official web site]