Cronkite Hosts High School Summer Journalism Institutes

Thirty-eight high school students will learn digital and broadcast news skills this summer at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. Entravision Communications Corp. is the new sponsor of the Entravision Summer Digital Media Institute, while the Arizona Broadcasters Association and the Scripps Howard Foundation are the longtime supporters of the Summer High School Broadcast Institute. The students, many from underrepresented communities, will live on campus and attend sessions from May 31 through June 30 at the Cronkite School on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus. They receive full scholarships to cover housing, meals and training. The 20 digital students will attend class sessions taught by Cronkite faculty on writing, reporting and multi-platform journalism. They also will tour local media outlets and produce an online news website. Chris Moncayo, vice president and general manager of Entravision Communications Phoenix, said the company, which owns and/or operates 53 TV stations and 48 radio stations nationwide, is proud to sponsor the digital media institute. “Entravision Communications continues to be a strong supporter of education in our community,” Moncayo said. “We are excited to partner with the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication to help make possible the summer digital media institute, which gives high school students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds the opportunity to learn cutting-edge technology in a real-world setting.” The Summer High School Broadcast Institute at Cronkite is funded by the Arizona Broadcasters Association and the Scripps Howard Foundation. The 18 students will take classes in writing, reporting, videography and editing, meet with broadcast professionals, visit leading Phoenix-area media outlets and anchor, write, produce and direct their own newscasts. Arizona Broadcasters Association, a longtime sponsor of the program, recently renewed its commitment for three additional years. “It’s been a very worthwhile investment for us in the high school students who attend each year,” said ABA President and CEO Art Brooks. He said the program instills in students the importance of a university journalism education, gives member radio and TV stations a glimpse of future broadcasters and, through station tours and visits from local broadcasters, gives students a sense of what it’s like to work in broadcast news. The institutes are directed by Anita Luera, the Cronkite School’s director of high school programs and past president of the Arizona Latino Media Association. “Students participating in our high school summer digital and broadcast journalism institutes have the opportunity to learn from professionals, faculty and staff and use the tools of a new and changing world of journalism,” Luera said. “Learning in action – the experience doesn’t get any better than that.” In addition to the high school institutes, the Cronkite School will host from June 12-24 the Reynolds High School Journalism Institute, which provides professional development to high school journalism teachers. The Reynolds institute was created by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and is operated by the American Society of News Editors.