International Edward R. Murrow Program Journalists to Visit Cronkite School

Fourteen international journalists are at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication this week to examine and experience a free press as part of the U.S. State Department’s Edward R. Murrow Program.Named in honor of the late CBS News journalist, the Murrow Program brings media professionals from around the world to the U.S. to study journalistic best practices, examine foreign affairs reporting and network with American media professionals. The program is a public-private partnership between the State Department and several of the nation’s top journalism schools. Established in 2006, more than 1,200 international journalists have participated in the program since its inception.Cronkite has hosted nearly 100 Murrow fellows since 2010. This year’s cohort comes from Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey.This year, 85 journalists from 75 countries will be in the U.S. for a month-long excursion that kicks off in Washington and concludes in New York. ASU is one of seven partner universities hosting the fellows as they travel to destinations across the country to learn about U.S. politics, government and news media.Cronkite Associate Professor B. William Silcock, director of Cronkite Global Initiatives and a two-time Fulbright Scholar, leads the Murrow Program at ASU.“This extraordinary election year provides the perfect backdrop for these professionals to learn about the American electoral process,” Silcock said. “It will also be a valuable opportunity for our students and faculty to gain insights on how our election campaigns are perceived by top journalists from around the world.”The Murrow Fellows are at Cronkite from Nov. 3-9. They tour various media outlets and attend sessions on state and national politics, elections coverage and how news organizations use social media to engage audiences.Other universities hosting Murrow Fellows include Syracuse University, the University of Georgia, University of Minnesota, University of Nevada, Reno, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of Oklahoma.The Cronkite School also hosts the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in journalism, a partnership with the U.S. State Department and the Institute of International Education that brings accomplished mid-career journalists from designated countries to the U.S. for 10 months of intensive academic study and professional experience.Both the Murrow and the Humphrey Fellowship programs are operated at ASU through Cronkite Global Initiatives, which aims to foster meaningful connections among Cronkite students, staff and faculty and international media professionals, scholars and citizens. Other major Cronkite Global Initiatives programs include study abroad trips, overseas faculty research projects and invited scholars and professionals.