The Poynter Institute for Media Studies

The Poynter Institute is a school and resource for journalism located in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is the owner of the company that publishes the "St. Petersburg Times" and "Congressional Quarterly". It is in close proximity to the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library on the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus, built in memory of Nelson Poynter. It was founded in May 1975 by Nelson Poynter, chairman of the "St. Petersburg Times" and "Congressional Quarterly" bearing the name "Modern Media Institute" [http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=103&aid=123638] . In 1984 it changed to The Poynter Institute for Media Studies.

In 1976 the Poynter Institute counted no more than 4 employees and 267 students. In 2002 the respective numbers were 59 employees and more than 1,200 students.

One of Poynter's most popular endeavors is Jim Romenesko's blog covering journalism and the media, hosted on Poynter's Web site. The blog, which gets high traffic from industry professionals, was included in News.com's Blog 100 for Media blogs. [http://news.com.com/2311-10784_3-111373.html]

The Poynter Summer Fellowship

The Poynter Summer Fellowship is a six-week summer program at Poynter that teaches young journalists the skills they need to become a better writer, designer, or photojournalist.

Poynter's program has been an important stepping stone for journalists including Ceci Connolly, a national reporter for "The Washington Post"; Steve Dorsey, AME Presentationvague at the "Detroit Free Press"; and Jason DeParle, reporter for the "New York Times". Other alumni are working at "The New Republic", "The Keene" (N.H.) "Sentinel", "The Des Moines Register", "South Florida Sun-Sentinel", "The Washington Post", "St. Petersburg Times", "The Miami Herald", "Orange County (Calif.) Register", MSNBC.com, "The New York Times", and "The Boston Globe", to name a few.

The participants in the program spend six weeks covering a community beat in St. Petersburg, a city of 250,000, and small cities on Florida's Gulf Coast.

Students collaborate through written and visual storytelling. They meet weekly deadlines and have their work published in the program's online publication. The students work on a team including writers, photojournalists, and graphic designers.

They learn on the beat and in the classroom. The faculty teach and demonstrate reporting methods, ethical decision-making, computer-assisted investigation, Web production, photojournalism, a variety of writing techniques, and the creative skills necessary to produce innovative and solid design.

Some of the previous years' guest faculty included such award-winning journalists as Peter Zuckerman of "The Oregonian", Anne Hull of "The Washington Post"; Tom French from the "St. Petersburg Times"; David Leeson, 2004 Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist for "The Dallas Morning News"; Andrew Skwish, an illustrator whose work has appeared in various publications; J. Kyle Keener, "Detroit Free Press" chief photographer; Dr. Mario Garcia, president and CEO of Garcia Media; David Yarnold, former editor and senior vice president of the "San Jose Mercury News"; and Archie Tse, graphic projects director for "The New York Times".

News University

News University is a project of the Poynter Institute. NewsU 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 partnership between the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Poynter Institute for Media Studies. Launched in April 2005, NewsU offers free self-directed courses, live "Webinars" and group online seminars.

NewsU has a training blog, "NU Access", that won a Horizon Interactive Award in 2007.

External links

* [http://www.poynter.org/ Poynter.org official site]
* [http://www.newsu.org/ NewsU.org official site]