New York (April 15, 2021): Military Veterans in Journalism (MVJ) and the Poynter Institute are teaming up to offer veterans more than $20,000 of journalism training and two fellowships, thanks to a grant awarded by Craig Newmark Philanthropies.
“We owe a lot to vets and their families, and we need to hear from them,” said Craig Newmark, founder and customer service representative of Craig Newmark Philanthropies and craigslist. “This initiative will really help.”
Veterans who are early-career journalists, aspiring journalists or journalism students are all eligible to participate in these courses. Courses include practical training in broadcast, print and digital journalism techniques and best practices.
“This is a great opportunity for veterans to take advantage of Poynter’s e-learning catalog, which helps journalists around the world improve their skills,” said Wendy Wallace, the Poynter Institute’s director of advancement. “We’re proud of this partnership to help vets get to work in journalism and add their voices to the nation’s storytelling.”
MVJ will select two veterans to participate in a six-month paid fellowship program at a newsroom of their choice. The fellows will be selected by a committee of established journalists such as Jake Tapper, anchor and chief Washington correspondent, CNN and Michael McCoy, U.S. Army veteran and award winning photographer.
According to U.S. census data, only roughly 2% of media workers are veterans. “This program will allow us to bridge the gap between vets and media and help more vets break into the journalism industry to continue serving the public,” said Zack Baddorf, founder and executive director of MVJ.
More information will be published by MVJ in the coming weeks, and can be found at https://www.mvj.network/blog . If you’re a veteran and want to join MVJ, go to https://www.mvj.network/membership.
About Military Veterans in Journalism
Military Veterans in Journalism is a professional association that builds community for vets, supports their career growth, and advocates for diversifying newsrooms through hiring and promoting more vets. Learn more at www.mvj.network
About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is a global leader in professional 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, Florida and at newsrooms, conferences and organizations around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, offers the world’s largest online journalism curriculum, with hundreds of interactive courses and tens of thousands of registered international users. The Institute’s website produces 24-hour coverage about media, ethics, technology and the business of news. Poynter is the home of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, the Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact, the International Fact-Checking Network and MediaWise, a digital information literacy project for young people, first-time voters and senior citizens. The world’s top journalists and media innovators rely on Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcasters. This work builds public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and discourse that serves democracy and the public good. Learn more at poynter.org.
