Last Updated: May 26, 1999
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Institute for Journalism Excellence
Editors, educators benefit from IJE
By Diana Mitsu Klos
Editors and journalism educators who participated in the 1997 Institute
for Journalism Excellence drew on one another’s strengths to make the program
a success.
Jeanette Barrett-Stokes, copy desk chief Gannett News Service, wrote
that Wilma King-Jones of Western Kentucky University contributed "fresh
ideas and views" as a copy editor. "(Wilma) got an up-close and personal
glimpse at the reality of the business — deadline pressures, an overwhelming
volume of copy moving all at once on some days, and how important it is
that journalists grasp (and apply) the basic tools of the trade."
The Institute seeks to strengthen connections and idea-sharing between
educators who are shaping the next generation of journalists and editors
who are charting the future of their newspapers in the midst of dramatic
change. Educators update their journalism skills, and newsrooms develop
a better understanding of journalism education.
In the Institute’s first three years, 72 journalism educators and 46
daily newspapers and news organizations have participated in the seven-week
summer program. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which has funded
the Institute since its inception in 1995, has earmarked $825,000 to continue
the program from 1998-2000.
Some of those journalism professors’ thoughts on the program are on
the following pages.
Klos, project director for ASNE, administers the Institute for Journalism
Excellence.
