This Week @ McCormick Journalism: Military and Media Convene, TrueStar Shines

It's been a big week  for the Journalism Program. We announced a series of approvals of grants for more than $3.8 million over two years in the Journalism Program's new grantmaking categories of Content, Audience and Rights. Here's a recap of this week's conferences and news articles about our grantees.
 
Journalism Program Events

• More than 20 members of the military and media gathered at Cantigny this week for a conference on the "Current State of Military-Media Relations: Where Do We Go From Here?" Sessions included panels on Information Practices in Irregular Warfare and the Impact on Military Media Relations and Military Media Relations in an era of declining media power, resources and audiences. Much of the debate centered on the use of new media tools and technologies in the coverage of warfare. Since 1992, the Foundation has hosted a series of conferences (this was the 10th) at Cantigny that bring together journalists focused on national security with military top brass to discuss best practices and challenges. These off-the-record conferences on timely topics are a well-regarded contribution to coverage of national security. Stay tuned for the conference report, or view the 2006 conference report. Conference attendees can keep in touch with participants through our Ning site.
  
• Specialized Reporting Institute: The Energy Solutions Conference hosted by Ohio State University concluded this week. Conference presentations and resources will be posted soon on the event's Ning site.
  

Grantees in the News

• TrueStar Magazine was featured in the Chicago Tribune this week. Former Executive Stars Guiding Teens: True Star Magazine's success leads to True Star Radio, offering more opportunities for students. 
  
• TrueStar was also featured on WCIU First Business. View the video clip.
• The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication was mentioned in an AP article, "Journalism Finding Recruits, If Not Profits," which cited the most recent 2008 Annual Survey on Journalism and Mass Communications. "Only six in 10 graduates from journalism and mass communication schools during the 2007-08 academic year had full-time employment within six to eight months of leaving school, the lowest since the annual survey began 23 years ago. At the same time, those programs granted more degrees than ever, about 55,000."
• The University of Georgia survey was also cited this week in a Chronicle of Higher Education article, "Stop the Presses! Revamped Journalism Courses Attract Hordes of Students: Even as job prospects dim, a focus on new media and entrepreneurship produces record enrollments." 
• Street-Level Youth Media held its annual 2009 benefit at the Red Canary. Anthony Ponce, NBC Chicago reporter, Wendy Turner, managing director of Vocalo, and Ray Noland, graphic artist, were presented with the Power-Up Awards, which recognizes media and digital arts professional serving as positive role models for youth.
  

Other news/opportunities

• Youth Media:YO! Youth Outlook and WireTap magazine is hosting its Eighth Youth Media Blog-a-Thon: Yes We Care! Young People Weigh in on the Health Care Debate. Details on how to participate. 
• Clarion-Ledger reporter Jerry Mitchell wins prestigious MacArthur Fellowship. One of two dozen new MacArthur fellows, Mitchell plans to use the $500,000 grant to work on unsolved civil rights-era crimes and complete a book. Larry K. Whitaker, president and publisher of The Clarion-Ledger, was quoted in the paper, "I speak for the entire Clarion-Ledger family when I say that Jerry's latest honor solidifies his position as one of the nation's top journalists. This is an incredible accomplishment that is a result of Jerry's dogged reporting and his refusal to give up on cases others considered unsolvable. We couldn't be prouder of this outstanding achievement."

Please e-mail us if you have news or announcements to share about your projects. We look forward to hearing from you.

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McCormick Foundation Invests $3.8 Million into Journalism Content, Audience and Rights Initiatives

McCormick's Journalism Program is pleased to announce approval of a series of grants supporting news and information throughout the U.S. at the Foundation's September, 2009, board meeting. The 26 grants, totaling $3,835,000 over two years, fall into the Journalism Program's new grantmaking categories of Content, Audience and Rights.

"This package of journalism initiatives signals a new strategic direction for the McCormick Foundation's Journalism Program," said Clark Bell, program director. "We now frame the Foundation's support to news media around three critical areas: Content, Audience and Rights. The audience category addresses the public's information needs and how news organizations can better interact with their audiences. At the core of the new strategy is the emerging area of News Literacy - enhancing the ability of young people to analyze information and decipher what is and isn't reliable."

The grants include:

Content

*    Center for Investigative Reporting ($75,000 over 1 year for reporting on carbon trading)
*    Center for Media and Security ($200,000 over 2 years for military-media outreach briefings)
*    Center for Public Integrity ($75,000 over 1 year for consortium on investigative reporting)
*    Community Renewal Society ($75,000 over 1 year for the Chicago Reporter)
*    TCC Group ($400,000 over 2 years for the Challenge Fund for Journalism)

Audience

*    American University ($200,000 over 2 years for J-LAB's New Media Women Entrepreneurs)
*    Asian American Journalists Association ($200,000 over 2 years for an audience-building project)
*    Associated Press Managing Editors Foundation ($75,000 over 1 year for NewsTrain workshops for college faculty)
*    Free Spirit Media ($200,000 over 2 years for broadcast journalism for Chicago youth)
*    LA Youth ($140,000 over 2 years for youth journalism)
*    Minnesota Public Radio ($75,000 over 1 year for social network journalism program)
*    National Association of Hispanic Journalists ($100,000 over 1 year for audience-building project)
*    National Museum of Mexican Art ($150,000 over 2 years for RadioArte youth radio program)
*    Pacific News Service ($100,000 over 1 year for New America Media's work with journalism schools and media partnerships)
*    Northwestern University's Media Management Center ($275,000 over 1 year for general support and Fellows initiative)
*    Poynter Institute ($150,000 over 2 years for the News Literacy Project's work in Chicago Public Schools)
*    Radio & Television News Directors Foundation ($150,000 over 2 years for Camp STN and news literacy work with youth)
*    Roosevelt University ($210,000 over 18 months for a Chicago-area youth media technology fund)
*    StonyBrook Foundation ($100,000 over 1 year for high school and college news literacy curriculum)
*    Street Level Youth Media ($120,000 over 2 years for the Sounding Point program training)
*    USC's Knight Digital Media Center ($100,000 over 1 year for a transforming news organizations now project)
*    Young Chicago Authors ($85,000 over 1 year for general support and a citywide youth media festival)

Rights
*    Committee to Protect Journalists ($150,000 over 2 years for press freedom work in U.S., Cuba and Mexico)
*    Illinois First Amendment Center ($100,000 over 1 year for Youth First Amendment Program)
*    Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press ($200,000 over 2 years for McCormick Legal Fellowship)
*    Student Press Law Center ($130,000 over 2 years for McCormick Publications Fellowship)

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An inside look at the the 2016 Summer Olympics bid

Caption: SRI participants interview Richard Pound at the Cliff Dwellers club overlooking downtown Chicago.

Participants of the McCormick Foundation’s Specialized Reporting Institute's (SRI) three-day journalist symposium, "An Inside Look at Chicago's Bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics," left with a better understanding of how the Chicago 2016 bid works and the tools and resources to better report about the bid and the Games, should Chicago win the bid. DePaul University's College of Communication hosted the panels in its new building at 14 E. Jackson from Sept 13-15:

· Twitter as Journalism: DePaul's Twitter expert Craig Kanalley talked about his BreakingTweets.com

· The Economic Impact of the Olympic Games. Panelists included Bill Rosen, president of Leo Burnett's ARC Worldwide; Charlie Besser, CEO of Intersport, Inc.; Misty Johanson, professor at DePaul's School of Hospitality Leadership; and Rita Athas, executive director of World Business Chicago.

· Technology of 2016: What can we expect?: Panelists included Jim Corno Jr, president of Comcast SportsNet Chicago; Jimmy de Castro, media industry pioneer of Content Factory and MusicToGo; Mitch Rosen, program director of WSCR-AM The Score radio; and Tracy Schmidt, ChicagoNow.

· Paralympics: The OTHER Games: Speakers included Charlie Huebner, Chief of Paralympics for the USOC; Linda Mastandrea, Chicago2016's Paralympic director and Paralympian gold medal winner; Karen Tamley, commissioner of Chicago's Office for People with Disabilities; and Dr. Joel Press, founder of the Spine and Sports Rehabilitation Center in Chicago.

· What's Next?: Panelists included Lori Healey, President of Chicago2016; Andy Shaw, executive director of the Better Government Association; Dr. Carson Cunningham, professor of Olympic history at DePaul University; and Phil Hersh, Chicago Tribune Olympic reporter.

Keynote speakers included:

· Bob Lang, from Kennesaw State University, who was in charge of Georgia Tech's Olympic Village security during the 1996 Atlanta Games.

· Dick Pound from the IOC spoke during dinner at Cliff Dwellers Monday night. With the latest announcement that President Obama was not planning on attending the Oct. 2 meeting in Copenhagen where the host city will be announced, the question on everyone's mind was how this would affect Chicago's chances.

Group site visits included: Chicago Architecture Foundation's Boat Tour of the Chicago River, and a Bus Tour of the Washington Park site where the Olympic Stadium would be built and Michael Reese Hospital where the Olympic Village would be constructed. Journalists talked with Chicago Alderman Manny Flores, Washington Park Advisory Council President Cecilia Butler, and John McCarron from the Local Initiatives Support Coalition.

--Compiled by Lindsey Drakert, DePaul University journalism student

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Specialized Reporting Institute: McCormick Energy Solutions Conference Online: Starts Sunday

Join us online for the McCormick Energy Solutions Conference to take place this weekend.

The three-day conference will focus on how we will power our future—examining energy alternatives as well as the impact of proposed energy legislation. The Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism, one of the nation's longest-running journalism fellowship programs and a leader in the digital media field, is co-hosting this conference with the McCormick Foundation, John Glenn School of Public Affairs, Battelle and Ohio State's Institute for Energy and the Environment.

A select group of journalists and experts will gather on September 20-22 at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and you can take part through the Web.

Here’s how:

Tune into live video online at http://mccormickenergyconference.ning.com to hear the latest from these top experts:

• Don McConnell, President of Energy Technology at Battelle, the world's largest nonprofit research and development organization (9/20 at 3:00 pm )
• Dr. Marilyn Brown, Georgia Tech, formerly of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (9/21 at 8:30 am)
• Dr. Steven Koonin, Under Secretary for Science, U.S. Department of Energy (9/21 at 4:00 pm)
• Richard Sandor, "father of carbon trading" and founder of the Chicago Climate Exchange (9/21 at 12:30 pm)
• Steve Yurkovich, Center for Automotive Research, Ohio State University (9/22 at 8:30 am)
• Connie Schultz, Columnist, Cleveland Plain Dealer (9/22 at 12:30 pm)

There are four ways to participate online:

1. Watch live streaming and ask questions via chat
2. Follow updates on Twitter at twitter.com/kipworkshop and add your thoughts to the conversation by including #KipNRG in your tweets
3. Check out the livestreaming, videos, pics and comments on the conference Ning site
4. Fan us (McCormick Energy Solutions) on Facebook for conference highlights
   

Questions? Email us at McCormickEnergyConference@gmail.com.

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SRI Update: Stories on the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid

Panelists discuss "What's Next?" for Chicago's Bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Sept. 14, 2009. Photo credit: Lindsey Drakert

Follow the first of many stories that will come out of McCormick's Specialized Reporting Institute, hosted by DePaul University's College of Communication, on An Inside Look at Chicago's Bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

MSNBC: IOC Member said Obama's Absence Would be Noted

Huffington Post: Obama's Absence from 2016 Olypmics Vote Would be Noted

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/15/obamas-absence-from-2016_n_286969.html

and Paralypmics: Bonus Beyond Olympic Games

Xinhua News Agency: IOC Urges Chicago to Get Obama to Support Olypmic Bid

Photo gallery (compliments of Lindsey Drakert): SRI: An Inside Look at Chicago's Bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics

Follow EJC600words' TwitPics and read Esther J. Cepeda's "live" blog updates and reflections

Thanks to DePaul's Media Relations team for tracking more coverage by Sports Illustrated, USA Today, Yahoo! Finance, Boston Globe, ABC News and more...

WBBM-AM 780

Chicago Sun-Times

Chicago Public Radio

Chicago Tribune

Have you seen other stories that came out of the event? Please e-mail us.

Stay tuned for a recap of the week's events.

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DePaul University to host Specialized Reporting Institute on Chicago’s 2016 Summer Olympic Bid

Some 26 journalists will gather in Chicago on Sunday for a three-day McCormick Foundation Specialized Reporting Institute on the city’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The goal of the reporting institute is to help peel back the multi-layered Olympic bid process and give the media a closer look for covering the story in an in-depth, objective manner.

As the media landscape changes and new delivery systems and reporting techniques take root, platforms used as recent as the 2008 Olympics in Beijing have been become outdated. Participants , including journalists from USA Today, Associated Press, Reuters, Financial Times, WLS-TV (Ch. 7), Chicago magazine and Chicago Public Radio, can learn from each other just as they learn about Chicago's bid.

The effort involves a confluence of topics, including politics, government, architecture, culture, environment, and economics, that present a unique opportunity for journalists to present vital information and stories to the public. Speakers at the event will include Lori Healey, president of the Chicago 2016 Committee; Richard Pound, a voting member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Charlie Huebner, executive director of the U.S. Paralympic Association.

As the International Olympic Committee voting Oct. 2 to determine the site for the 2016 Olympic Games nears, it is the goal of McCormick and DePaul to help journalists gather and interview specific, informed sources that can assist them in a timely fashion whether or not Chicago is successful in getting the Games.

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