Chancellor King Launches SUNY Institute for Local News, Announces 20 Summer Reporting Internships for SUNY Students
October 22, 2024
With Support from Lumina Foundation, First Statewide Program of Its Kind to Support News Deserts with College Student-Produced Content
Institute Works with Center for Community News and Campuses to Develop New Journalism-Focused Programs and Collaborations to Increase Student Success Through Hands-On Experience
Albany, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. today announced the launch of the SUNY Institute for Local News as a result of funding from Lumina Foundation and in partnership with the Center for Community News at the University of Vermont. This is the first statewide program of its kind in the United States to address news deserts and struggling local news outlets with college student-produced content.
Lumina has committed $150,000 over the next two years toward faculty champions and its impact award program. Lumina support is part of Press Forward, a national movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. SUNY has committed an additional $160,000 over the next two years toward up to 20 summer reporting internships, which will pair student journalists with their hometown news outlets.
"Journalism is the keystone of a healthy democracy, but as thousands of local news outlets have closed their doors or dramatically reduced staffing since the mid-2000s, that keystone is chipping away," said SUNY Chancellor King. "Higher education can help these ‘news deserts’ while providing our students with the hands-on learning experience of delivering local content to struggling platforms through academic collaborations. I am grateful for the support of the Lumina Foundation for making this vital collaboration happen.
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "Journalism has the power to provide people with the knowledge they need to understand the issues that affect their communities. The regular reporting of local news is critical and that is why we are proud to launch the SUNY Institute for Local News to ensure that all New Yorkers, regardless of where they live, have access to quality journalism. In doing so, we are also offering real work-life opportunities that prepare our students for careers in this vital field."
Fourteen faculty members will help develop new journalism-focused programs and collaborations with the Center for Community News, including:
- Andrew Bottomley, Associate Professor, SUNY Oneonta
- Annemarie Franczyk, Associate Professor, Buffalo State University
- Christopher Keaty, Assistant Professor, SUNY Broome
- Eileen Gilligan, Associate Professor, SUNY Oswego
- Elaine Salisbury, Lecturer, University at Albany
- Elmer Ploetz, Associate Professor, SUNY Fredonia
- Eric Hardiman, Associate Professor, University at Albany
- Gayane Torosyan, Associate Professor, SUNY Oneonta
- George Giokas, Lecturer, Stony Brook University
- Jay Barber, Clinical Assistant Professor, University at Buffalo
- Marsha Ducey, Associate Professor and Chair, SUNY Brockport
- Ӧzgür Akgün, Assistant Professor, SUNY Old Westbury
- Paul Arras, Assistant Professor, SUNY Cortland
- Peter Brusoe, Assistant Professor, SUNY Delhi
Director of the Center for Community News Richard Watts said, "Passionate faculty members are the lifeblood of university-led reporting programs. We are pleased to honor the leadership of these 14 faculty members and the commitment that SUNY has made to serve its students and communities through quality reporting." Richard Watts is a faculty member at the University of Vermont where CCN is housed and a SUNY Cortland graduate.
Jamie Merisotis, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation, said, "Local journalism plays an essential role in connecting communities, yet far too many areas are left without the critical coverage they need. Supporting initiatives like the SUNY Institute for Local News is a vital step toward ensuring these areas receive the coverage necessary to build strong, informed communities. This program aligns with Lumina’s commitment to creating more equitable opportunities in education and strengthening the fabric of democracy through well-informed citizens."
Students in university-led student reporting programs provided more than 12,000 published local news stories to struggling media enterprises around the country last year, according to the Center for Community News. Often called news/academic partnerships, SUNY ILN allows students to provide content, vetted and edited by a faculty member, to local media outlets to give them the experience they need to succeed as journalists.
SUNY ILN identifies existing academic collaborations with local news outlets; works with individual campuses to develop new programs; hosts training sessions and meetings; develops templates and best practices specific to the SUNY System; seeks additional funding for strategic investments in state news deserts; shares and coordinate system-wide credit-earning experiential learning opportunities and build collaborations between colleges and universities.
The presence of local news contributes to higher civic engagement, government accountability and social cohesion. However. approximately 80 million Americans live in news deserts according to the Local News Initiative at Northwestern University. Researchers at the University of North Carolina identified 14 New York counties as being considered news deserts in 2020. Between 2004 and 2018, New York State lost 40% of its operating newspapers and saw a 63% decrease in newspaper circulation.
About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit suny.edu.
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