FRANKO.SOTOMAYOR NAMED ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
OF USCANNENBERG’S INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE AND JOURNALISM

LOS ANGELES, February 6, 2007 – Veteran, award-winning journalist Frank O. Sotomayor has been named associate director of the Institute for Justice and Journalism (IJJ) at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication.

Sotomayor, who worked at the Los Angeles Times for 35 years in various editing positions, was co-editor and a writer of the landmark Times series "Latinos in Southern California," which won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. He served as a Senior Fellow of the Institute for Justice and Journalism and as an adjunct professor and writing coach at USC Annenberg’s School of Journalism in 2006. He continues to coach USC Annenberg journalism students.
 
As associate director, Sotomayor is working with the director, another associate director, a program coordinator and several IJJ senior fellows on program development, professional fellowships, forums and Justice and Journalism Fund-supported activities. He is centrally involved in resource development and communications to news media professionals and executives, journalism educators and students, institute partners and the public.

“Frank Sotomayor has had a distinguished career, sharing a Pulitzer Prize, studying at Harvard University as a Nieman Fellow and co-founding two organizations in the forefront of efforts to diversify newsrooms,” said IJJ Director SteveMontiel. “He will help us grow in impact and reach as we work to strengthen journalism about justice and injustice.”

Sotomayor was a co-founder of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and the California Chicano News Media Association. In 2002, he was named to the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

He received a B.A. in journalism from the University of Arizona and a master's degree in communication from Stanford University. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University during the 1985-86 academic year.

USC Annenberg’s Institute for Justice and Journalism (www.justicejournalism.org), funded by The Ford Foundation since its creation in 2000, offers fellowships, conferences and reporting resources to strengthen news coverage involving issues of justice. The institute’s Justice and Journalism Fund directly supports in-depth reporting. IJJ also is part of a partnership that created the new Center on the Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York.

Located in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California, 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.annenberg.usc.edu.

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CONTACT INFORMATION:

Institute for Justice and Journalism
USC Annenberg School for Communication
300 South Grand Avenue, Suite 3950           
Los Angeles, California 90071
(213) 437-4410
ijj@usc.edu