FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: October 9, 2008
(JACKSON, Miss.) Jackson State University will host nineteen African journalists through Oct. 14 as part of the U.S. Department of State's Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists.
The Murrow Program is public-private partnership between the Department of State and 10 leading schools of journalism and mass communications. The program will bring approximately 160 journalists from independent media from around the world to the U.S. to examine journalistic principles and practices, both in the United States and abroad, and interact with professional journalists and journalism educators.
"JSU is delighted to be among the host universities for this year's prestigious Murrow program," said Dwight E. Brooks, mass communications professor and chair. "Our students and faculty will have a rare opportunity to engage with these international journalists on the important issues they discuss in their classrooms. We hope to contribute to the promotion of responsible and ethical journalism around the world."
The nineteen African journalists who will visit JSU include representatives from Namibia, South Africa, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. The group will participate in seminars and workshops on international journalism and politics, the civil rights movement in Mississippi, health care, education, and the Black and alternative presses.
The journalists also will visit Tougaloo College, the Jackson Medical Mall and the Mississippi e-Center @ JSU, which houses JSUs TV23 and the Department of Mass Communications. The program will conclude in New York City, with visits to major media outlets and a symposium on the future of journalism globally. The other partner institutions are: University of Minnesota, Marquette University, University of Maryland, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Oklahoma, University of Southern California, Syracuse University, University of Tennessee, and Texas Christian University. For more information, contact Shirley Harrison at 601-979-2043 or Dwight E. Brooks at 601 979-1352.
