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FUND FOR IN-DEPTH REPORTING ESTABLISHED AT USC ANNENBERG’S LOS ANGELES (August 2, 2006) – A new journalistic “venture fund” has been established to support in-depth reporting on justice issues ranging from immigration, crime and punishment to post-9/11 security and civil rights. The Justice and Journalism Fund will be administered by the Institute for Justice and Journalism at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication. “The Justice and Journalism Fund will enable journalists to dig into challenging topics and do reporting that otherwise might not be possible,” said Steve Montiel, director of USC Annenberg’s Institute for Justice and Journalism (IJJ). “The goal is in-depth stories that help the public make sense of the complexities of difficult issues.” The $325,000 fund was established through a grant from The Ford Foundation. This fund will cover travel-related and logistical expenses required for field reporting, and provide stipends to independent journalists or technical support to cross-media reporting teams. In addition to inviting proposals from individual journalists and news outlets, the institute will seek projects involving cross-media collaboration among mass media, community media, free-lance journalists and youth media. Criminal Justice Reporting USC Annenberg’s Institute for Justice and Journalism also is part of an innovative partnership creating the new Center on the Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York (CUNY), in collaboration with the new CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and the national organization Criminal Justice Journalists. The center will provide an array of resources for journalists, including Justice and Journalism Fellowships, symposia on crime trends and high-profile criminal justice issues, an annual awards program for excellence in reporting and a study of news coverage of crime and justice, led by Criminal Justice Journalists President Ted Gest. The center also will offer symposia on high-profile criminal justice issues, Web and other multimedia services, a reporters’ guide for covering crime and justice and curricula and teaching tools for schools of journalism. The new center is also supported with newly approved funds from Ford, as well as grants to John Jay College from the Open Society Institute and Harry F. Guggenheim Foundation. “The programs of USC Annenberg’s Institute for Justice and Journalism foster improved reporting on some of the most significant issues of our time. We are grateful to The Ford Foundation for supporting this important work,” said Geoffrey Cowan, dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. “Helping the public understand the criminal justice system is critical to our democracy, and I am delighted we are able to partner with our colleagues to establish this groundbreaking new center at John Jay College.” Racial Justice Fellowships The Ford Foundation also is providing $200,000 for the next round of IJJ Racial Justice Fellowships, which will focus on political struggles over affirmative action and other issues involving civil rights, equity and opportunity in America. Ten journalists will be selected as Justice and Journalism Fellows later this year. They will meet with scholars, advocates and other experts during a weeklong conference at IJJ in Los Angeles in early 2007, and their editors or news directors will join them in follow-up discussions of their in-depth journalistic projects three months later at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla.. Past fellowships resulted in award-winning work, such as an Associated Press investigation into on-the-job deaths of migrant workers, Univision series about the U.S.-Mexico border and immigration, a WNYC radio report on post-9/11 deportations of Pakistani immigrants, in-depth stories about the consequences of incarceration policies in Wisconsin and Arizona and an examination of black-brown friction in Paterson, N.J. “In an era when news organizations with diminished resources are looking at new models for journalism, it’s important that The Ford Foundation and others are stepping up to support high-quality journalism,” said Michael Parks, director of USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism. “We hope these initiatives will inspire and teach others, whether they’re journalists, journalism educators or students.” Established at USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism with Ford Foundation funding, the Institute for Justice and Journalism provides fellowships, conferences, Web-based reporting resources and journalism education tools to strengthen journalism about justice and injustice. The USC Annenberg School for Communication is among the nation's leading institutions devoted to the study of journalism and communication, and their impact on politics, culture and society. With an enrollment of more than 1,900 graduate and undergraduate students, USC Annenberg offers bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in journalism, communication, public diplomacy and public relations. For more information, visit www.justicejournalism.org or www.annenberg.usc.edu. ### Contact information for USC Annenberg’s Institute for Justice and Journalism and the USC Annenberg School for Communication: Steve Montiel, IJJ Geoffrey Baum, USC Annenberg |
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