Cronkite hosts Scripps Howard Journalism Entrepreneurship Institute

Fifteen journalism professors from around the country will participate in a five-day program on teaching entrepreneurial journalism through the annual Scripps Howard Journalism Entrepreneurship Institute at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.

The Jan. 5-9 event is an immersion program that will equip 15 competitively selected professors with the necessary skills to infuse journalism entrepreneurship into their own academic programs in the following year. The institute is made possible through a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The E.W. Scripps Company.

“Entrepreneurship and creativity have been at the heart of our company since its founding 135 years ago,” said Mike Philipps, president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Foundation. “This spirit of innovation has made Scripps one of the nation’s leading media companies, so it’s incumbent upon us to encourage the kind of thinking that supports the industry’s evolution.”

The institute is directed by Cronkite professor Dan Gillmor, founder of Cronkite’s Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship and an internationally renowned thought leader on journalism entrepreneurship.

The institute will feature a keynote by Richard Gingras, director of news products for Google, as well as sessions with prominent digital entrepreneurs and experienced venture capitalists and funders.

During the institute, attendees will learn the basic principles of entrepreneurship, study pitch development and discover how to turn ideas into digital products. Training, transportation, lodging, materials and meals are provided to participants at no cost.

“By the end of this third-annual program, the Scripps Institute at Cronkite will have afforded 45 journalism educators from schools nationwide with the tools to teach journalism and infuse their classrooms and curriculums with the principles that can help young journalists become even more successful,” said Elizabeth Smith, Cronkite outreach director and coordinator for the program. “Understanding entrepreneurship can enable journalism grads to forge their own destinies by creating scalable ventures in an ever-evolving career field or add value by thinking entrepreneurially within traditional news companies.”

The E.W. Scripps Company is a leading media enterprise with 19 television stations and newspapers in 13 markets that is developing and expanding its digital strategies, including social gaming, for multiple platforms. Since 1941, Scripps has operated the National Spelling Bee, one of America's most-enduring celebrations of academic excellence.

The Cronkite School is a leader among journalism schools, recognized for its “teaching hospital” method of hands-on education for tomorrow’s cross-platform journalists and communications professionals. Its New Media Innovation Lab helps students develop digital media and entrepreneurial skills by giving them the opportunity to create cutting-edge digital media products for media companies and organizations.

2014 Scripps Howard Entrepreneurship Institute Fellows

• Kiesha Easley, mass communications instructor, Benedict College

• Neil Foote, principal lecturer, the University of North Texas Mayborn School of Journalism

• Lori Henson, journalism lecturer, Indiana State University

• Susan Jacobson, assistant professor, Florida International University

• Rachele Kanigel, associate professor of journalism and acting director of the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism, San Francisco State University

• Beth Konrad, journalism program director and senior professional in residence, Loyola University Chicago

• Kurt Lancaster, associate professor of digital media, Northern Arizona University

• Norm Lewis, associate professor of journalism, University of Florida

• Hugh J. Martin, associate professor, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism and the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University

• Joy McDonald, assistant professor, Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications at Hampton University

• Colleen McEdwards, lecturer, Georgia State University and anchor, CNN International

• Sean Mussenden, lecturer of digital journalism, University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism

• Kevin Rafter, associate professor and associate dean for research, Dublin City University, Ireland

• Michael I. Williams, associate professor and director of special projects and innovation, University of Kansas William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications

• Emily Withrow, assistant professor of journalism, Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism