Reynolds High School Journalism Institute

Teachers from around the country came to the Cronkite School for training in the summer of 2008.

For two weeks during the summer, high school journalism teachers and advisers from around the country gather at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication for the Reynolds High School Journalism Institute, an intensive training program in the principles and practices of journalism.

The Cronkite School, which held its first institute in 2007, is one of five journalism schools in the nation selected to host the program, which was created by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and is operated by the American Society of News Editors.

About 35 journalism teachers are accepted into the program each summer. Teachers are housed together near campus and spend their days – and some evenings – practicing their journalism skills and learning from some of the nation’s top journalism professionals and educators.

The Reynolds Foundation covers the cost of the teachers’ travel, housing, meals, tuition, credits and instructional materials.

Steve Elliott, director of print and digital services for Cronkite News Service and a former Associated Press editor and business executive, is the lead educator for the institute.

On the 2009 program: Marty Kaiser, editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and ASNE president; Rick Rodriguez, a former ASNE president who serves as the Cronkite School’s first Carnegie Professor specializing in Latino and transnational news coverage; and Gregory Favre, a former ASNE president who serves as distinguished fellow in journalism values for the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla. Many other Cronkite School faculty members and news industry professionals provide training each year.

Anita Luera, the Cronkite School’s director of high school programs, is lead coordinator for the institute.

Newsroom advisers from schools with diverse student populations are encouraged to apply, as are those who want to start a school newspaper. Veteran advisers eager to update their skills also are welcome.

The Reynolds Foundation covers the cost of the teachers’ travel, housing, meals, tuition, credits and instructional materials.

Please watch the ASNE’s HSJ.org for information on applying.

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, it is of one of the largest private foundations in the United States.

ASNE is the principal organization of the top editors at daily newspapers. Founded in 1922 as a nonprofit organization, ASNE focuses on professional development and journalism-related issues, including the First Amendment, diversity in newsroom staffing and coverage diversity, journalism education, editorial innovation and credibility.