High School Students Learn Journalism at Cronkite School

Thirty-four high school students, many from underrepresented communities, learned journalism this summer through two residential programs at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. The students came from 25 high schools in Arizona, two in California and one each in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. For two weeks, they lived on ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus, with housing, meals and training provided at no charge. Tom Chauncey, a media lawyer at Gust Rosenfeld PLC, longtime Cronkite School supporter and Cronkite Endowment Board member, made this year’s Summer Digital Media Institute possible, along with support from Dow Jones News Fund. “This is not the first time I have been able to support Cronkite’s High School outreach program,” said Chauncey. “Over the years, I have been fortunate to see firsthand how important outreach programs are for students, the school and the public. ASU’s program exposes students to the possibility of a college education, while providing access to professional journalists and an intense exposure to the media industry. It results in a transformative increase in experience, skills and confidence. The change is tangible and inspiring. By providing opportunity for students, the public benefits from better-educated, experienced and diverse journalists. I am proud to be a part of it.” The 18 students in the Summer Digital Media Institute learned reporting, writing and multimedia journalism from Cronkite faculty. Their work culminated in a news website. They also toured professional media outlets. “The Dow Jones News Fund is pleased to support the summer journalism workshop at Arizona State University’s Cronkite School,” said Linda Shockley, deputy director of Dow Jones News Fund. “It’s a dynamic setting, with state-of-art resources and forward-thinking professionals who can guide and direct aspiring journalists.” The Arizona Broadcasters Association and the Scripps Howard Foundation also again gave generously to support the Summer High School Broadcast Institute. Sixteen students attended the Summer High School Broadcast Institute this year. These students learned reporting, broadcast news writing, videography and editing. They wrote, anchored, produced and directed their own newscasts. They also had the opportunity to meet with industry professionals and visit local broadcast outlets. “Scripps has been a longtime supporter of the Cronkite School’s high school summer journalism program, and our team at ABC15 is proud to be a part of it,” said Anita Helt, general manager at ABC15. “We always look forward to hosting the students in our studios. For most of them, it is their first experience inside a major market newsroom, and they learn relevant skills to help them move forward in their careers and they leave with strong insights into how a local news operation runs.” “The ABA has sponsored the Summer High School Broadcast Institute since 1990 and it has been hosted at the Cronkite School since 1996,” said Art Brooks, president and CEO of Arizona Broadcasters Association. “The institute gives students a real feel for the broadcast industry as they hear from radio and TV personalities and experts in the classroom and at the stations. It’s truly an honor for the Arizona Broadcasters Association to sponsor this ‘welcome mat’ to the industry.” The institutes were directed by Anita Luera, director of high school journalism programs at Cronkite, a past president of the Arizona Latino Media Association and former broadcast journalist. Luera taught class sessions along with other Cronkite faculty and staff, including Associate Professor Craig Allen, Production Specialist Brian Snyder and Faculty Associate David Cornelius. “The Cronkite Summer Journalism Institute is in high demand with students from high schools in Arizona and across the country. So being selected is an honor and the students know it,” Luera said. After the institutes for high school students, the Cronkite School will host high school journalism teachers for the Reynolds High School Journalism Institute, a two-week professional development experience June 16-28 that is administered by the American Society of News Editors through its Youth Journalism Initiative and funded with a generous grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.