The Poynter Institute has appointed Scott Libin to the newly created position of Director of Development and Outreach, effective July 1.

The appointment brings a familiar face to a new endeavor at Poynter.

Poynter's Dean of Faculty and president-designate Karen Brown Dunlap explained the new effort: "For over a quarter of a century this school has helped develop professional journalists, media leaders, and journalism organizations.  We now encourage others to contribute to that development through Poynter programs."

Poynter, a non-profit school for journalists, owns the stock of the Times Publishing Company. It uses the dividends from that stock, as well as modest revenues from tuition, to support its programs.

"We've grown, and we choose to address our growing needs with two goals," Dunlap said. "First, we want those who benefit from our efforts, news organizations, journalists, and other citizens, to share in support of quality development programs. We also want to practice what we teach by not unduly seeking returns from the news organization that we own, the St. Petersburg Times."

President Jim Naughton, who will retire from Poynter in August, agreed. "The fact is Poynter has responded to the economic downturn by virtually giving away training. We've managed that because our successful newspaper company contributes $6 million a year to the school, which helps to keep tuition at the lowest level possible. But the Institute's annual budget is now at $8 million a year.

"We must either increase profits from the newspaper, significantly increase tuition and housing fees, or raise funds from other sources. We want to try the third of those approaches and keep training accessible to journalists even in a straitened economy," he said.

In selecting Libin to head the new effort, the school turned to a journalist instead of a development administrator. He is a former news director and former Poynter faculty member.

Commenting on his new position, Libin said, "Poynter is a unique resource for journalists, and its mission is more important now than ever. I'm excited about the opportunity to support that mission in a new way, and to help keep the extraordinary Poynter experience affordable and accessible."

Currently, Libin is a Cowles Fellow at the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication with responsibility for teaching, research, and curriculum review.

Before joining the university, he was news director at KSTP-TV, the ABC affiliate in Minneapolis-St. Paul. During his five-year tenure there, the station was twice named Station of the Year by the National Press Photographers Association and received several other national awards.

From 1995-1998, Libin was a faculty member at Poynter, teaching in the areas of broadcast leadership and management, writing, and ethical decision-making. From 1986-1995, he worked at WGHP-TV in Greensboro-High Point-Winston-Salem, N.C., beginning as a reporter and progressing through the positions of weekend anchor, managing editor, and news director.

Early in his career, Libin worked as a congressional press secretary and later as a national correspondent for an independent television news bureau that served stations around the country. He earned a bachelor's degree in English and Journalism from the University of Richmond and a master's degree in Journalism and Public Affairs from the American University in Washington, D.C.

Libin is a member of the Radio-Television News Directors Association and the Committee of Concerned Journalists.

"Scott brings a passion for journalism, the ability to work with and inspire others, and the skills for getting things done," Dunlap said.

The Poynter Institute is a school for journalists, future journalists, and teachers of journalism. Poynter conducts more than 50 seminars annually in the areas of leadership and management, news reporting and writing, producing news for broadcast and online, ethics and diversity, and visual journalism. The school owns the Times Publishing Company, the parent company of the St. Petersburg Times, Congressional Quarterly and other publications.