Cronkite School plays host to Edward R. Murrow Fellows

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University is playing host to a group of international journalists as part of the U.S. State Department’s prestigious Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists.

The Murrow program, named in honor of the late CBS News journalist, began in 2006 to enable international journalists to study journalism and civic processes in the United States.

This year the program is bringing more than 150 journalists from 105 countries to the United States for a monthlong program that starts in Washington, D.C., and ends in New York. ASU is one of 10 partner universities hosting the fellows as they travel the country to gain an understanding of U.S. politics, government and news media.

Cronkite will host 13 fellows, who have been nominated by the U.S. embassies in their countries of residence. This year’s fellows come from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. ASU also hosted 13 Murrow Fellows last year.

B. William Silcock, an associate professor, a two-time Fulbright Scholar and director of Cronkite Global Initiatives, will lead the Murrow program. He said the fellows’ visit is a great learning opportunity for both the fellows and Cronkite students.

“Straight from the front lines of some of the world’s flashpoints, the Murrow Fellows bring to Cronkite important stories about how to be a journalist in a changing world – lessons that can’t be learned from a textbook,” Silcock said. “It’s important that we connect our students to the best global journalists to learn lessons they can use working at home or abroad.”

The Murrow Fellows will be at the Cronkite School from Nov. 2-8. While in Arizona, fellows will observe firsthand how local and national news media cover state politics and government, as well as American civic life.

The fellows also will travel to the U.S.-Mexico border to learn about the state’s border and immigration issues, hearing from local and federal law enforcement officials as well as humanitarian activists.

Other universities hosting Murrow Fellows include University of Georgia, University of Maryland, University of Minnesota, University of Nevada, University of North Carolina, University of Oklahoma, University of South Florida, Syracuse University and University of Tennessee.  

The Cronkite School also hosts the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in journalism – a partnership with the U.S. State Department and the Institute of International Education that brings accomplished mid-career journalists from emerging democracies to the U.S. for a 10-month intensive academic study and professional experience.