Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication will launch an investigative journalism center and master’s program next year with the help of a $3 million grant.
The Scripps Howard Foundation announced Monday it will be investing $6 million for the development of two investigative journalism centers at Arizona State University and the University of Maryland. Each center will hold multidisciplinary, graduate-level programs
The programs, named the Howard Centers, will each receive $3 million over three years to create and develop curriculum that focuses on investigative journalism and reporting. The Cronkite School and the Philip Merrill College of Journalism in Maryland were chosen out of 13 competing journalism schools nationwide.
“The Centers are envisioned as innovative educational programs,” Battinto Batts, Journalism Fund Director for the Scripps Howard Foundation, said in a press release. “Both Arizona State University and the University of Maryland are well-positioned to challenge their students to become ethical, entrepreneurial and courageous investigative journalists.”
Students attending a Howard Center are expected to receive a hands-on education through investigative projects with experienced professionals. Students will learn to search for information, data and statistics related to subjects that the students are interested in.
“If you look around at the world today, there is a huge amount of data and information that’s available for people to sift through,” Liz Carter, President and CEO of the Scripps Howard Foundation said. “We want these centers to be delving into data journalism and new ways to tell stories and really draw on an interdisciplinary approach.”
Carter said investigative journalism is the heart of what journalism is all about and hopes to attract students from different careers and fields of expertise.
“You might be a student who studied public policy, or medicine, and this is a way that you can put that knowledge to work and really have an impact on our communities and our society,” Carter said.
Kristin Gilger, Senior Associate Dean of the Walter Cronkite School, said investigative journalism has changed and having students from a variety of specialty backgrounds can help cover a wider variety of topics and ideas.
“What’s really interesting about this program is that it’s very interdisciplinary,” Gilger said. “There are so many interesting areas from other fields that can really benefit an investigative reporter.”
In a press release from the Scripps Howard Foundation, Lucy Dalglish, Dean for the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, said the Howard Centers will provide students with the proper resources and opportunities to tell important stories and be professional journalists upon graduation.
“Investigative journalists shine a light on our society’s problems and protect democracy by holding the powerful accountable,” said Dalglish in the release.
Each Howard Center, while operating on different campuses, will have opportunities to work together and collaborate on projects. Carter said the programs being located in different communities allows them to work together to build connections and sources with different perspectives.
The Walter Cronkite School and the Merrill College of Journalism are both searching for a director for each program and the Howard Centers will be open for student enrollment in 2019.
Contact the reporter at smedwar7@asu.edu.
Sara Edwards was the executive editor of Downtown Devil. She is a graduate student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Sara has additional bylines in Phoenix New Times, West Valley View, L.A. Downtown News and Boardwalk Times.
Sara is also the co-secretary for the Multicultural Student Journalists Coalition.
