Poynter, NABJ announce 2017 Academy for Diversity in Digital Media

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Poynter Institute and the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) will once again offer a transformative, tuition-free leadership program to train the best and brightest journalists of color working in digital media.

Applications are now open for the 2017 Leadership Academy for Diversity in Digital Media. The academy, offered to 25 participants, will take place Dec. 3-8, 2017, at the Poynter campus in St. Petersburg, Florida. Tuition is free, thanks to the generous support of the program's naming sponsor, TEGNA Foundation, with additional funding from The New York Times. To learn more and apply by Aug. 18, go here.

Featuring prominent leaders in the startup, tech and media fields, faculty will be led by Mizell Stewart III, vice president of news operations for the USA TODAY Network, and Ju-Don Marshall, a digital media strategist and chief content officer, WFAE-FM, the NPR station in Charlotte, N.C. They will be joined by NABJ President Sarah Glover, social media editor for NBC Owned Television Stations; Rashida Jones, senior vice president of specials for NBC News; Russ Torres, vice president, digital video content and strategy, USA TODAY Network; Benét Wilson, founder and editor-in-chief, Aviation Queen LLC; Tim Wong, senior director, UX and design, USA TODAY Network; and Amanda Zamora; chief audience officer, Texas Tribune.

This intensive, tuition-free program will address the unique issues journalists of color face on the path to leadership in digital journalism and technology organizations. It combines the efforts of the global leader in journalism education, The Poynter Institute, and the largest organization for journalists of color in the nation, NABJ, to promote diversity in newsrooms and create cutting-edge opportunities for career development.  

"We are delighted to extend our partnership with The Poynter Institute for a second year so we can expand the pool of minority leaders in the digital journalism space," said NABJ President Sarah Glover. "With the exponential growth of technologies and digital strategies, we value the training that will put these leaders at the front edge of the future of journalism."

The Leadership Academy for Diversity in Digital Media will include guidance on navigating newsroom culture, leadership styles, emerging technologies, the business of journalism and audience engagement, as well as networking and one-on-one coaching. Poynter and NABJ will collaborate closely to build an interactive, agile curriculum for the next generation of leaders. Applications will be accepted through Aug. 18.
 
"This program is designed to prepare the best young and mid-career journalists of today to lead tomorrow's news organizations," Poynter Vice President Kelly McBride said. "NABJ is a great partner, helping us identify the best curriculum to make the participants successful."
 
The Poynter-NABJ program builds upon the dynamic Poynter Leadership Academy for Women, which has offered training to the best and the brightest women in digital media in the last three years.
 
Poynter and NABJ are seeking additional funding from media and technology companies, foundations and academic institutions to support this transformative learning experience.
 
For more information on providing financial support, please contact Elisa Jackson, executive director of the Poynter Foundation, at ejackson@poynter.org or NABJ President Sarah Glover at nabjpresident21@gmail.com.
 
About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in journalism education and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and at conferences and organizational sites around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, www.newsu.org, offers the world's largest online journalism curriculum in 7 languages, with more than 400 interactive courses and registered users in more than 200 countries. The Institute's website, www.poynter.org, produces 24-hour coverage of news about media, ethics, technology, the business of news and the trends that currently define and redefine journalism news reporting. The world's top journalists and media innovators come to Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcast producers, and to build public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and protected discourse that serves democracy and the public good.
 
About The National Association of Black Journalists
An advocacy group established in 1975 in Washington, D.C., NABJ is the largest organization for journalists of color in the nation, and provides career development as well as educational and other support to its members worldwide. For additional information, please visit www.nabj.org.