McCormick Tribune Foundation Supports Youth Media and Journalism Training through Grants
Media contact:
Kyle Bradbury
312-222-3188
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CHICAGO, Dec. 21, 2005
The McCormick Tribune Foundation approved 21 grants to support innovative youth media projects and sustain funding of existing journalism initiatives during 2006.
A total of $860,000 in funding to local and national organizations will build on the journalism program’s mission of supporting initiatives in media education, leadership, freedom of expression, diversity and military-media relations. During the past 13 years, the program has awarded nearly $61 million.
“The McCormick Tribune Foundation believes cultivating a robust news media enhances our free democratic society,” said David L. Grange, president and chief executive officer of the McCormick Tribune Foundation. “The journalism program’s strategic focus on youth initiatives further underlines our commitment to children, communities and country.”
Nearly half of the new funding targets youth, aiming to increase awareness and understanding of the First Amendment among young people and advance opportunities in high school journalism.
These initiatives channel teens’ creativity through projects such as Free Spirit Media’s First Amendment Rights Video project, which will explore the effects of the First Amendment on young people and their inner-city communities in Chicago. Another grant to Radio Arte, a youth project of the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum of Chicago, will create radio programs exploring the implications of the First Amendment for Chicago’s Hispanic community.
Additional youth media grantees include:
- Columbia College, for a study on the feasibility of a city-wide teen newspaper in Chicago;
- Roosevelt University, for a study on the state of high school journalism in the Chicago area;
- Youth News Service Los Angeles Bureau, for a First Amendment rights project at L.A. Youth, a city-wide teen newspaper distributed to schools;
- Illinois Press Foundation, for a First Amendment awareness campaign for young people;
- Albany Park Theater Project, for a First Amendment rights teen theater project;
- Street Level Youth Media, for a youth First Amendment video project;
- Young Chicago Authors, for a First Amendment youth rights creative writing project.
The remaining funding will provide continuing support for high-impact journalism projects that promote diversity and leadership training for journalists as well as freedom of expression locally and internationally. The American Press Institute, for example, received $50,000 in continued support for its Media Center, an independent educational association providing skills-training and leadership development programs for the newspaper industry.
The foundation’s journalism program will also support:
- American Society of Newspaper Editors Foundation, for readership workshops for editorial leadership;
- Committee to Protect Journalists, for support of the Americas Program, which investigates attacks on journalists and assists local press freedom organizations;
- Community Renewal Society, for general support of The Chicago Reporter, a bimonthly investigative magazine that focuses on urban social, economic and political issues;
- International Center for Journalists, for a Latin American press freedom Web site;
- Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, for general support;
- National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation, for executive development programs;
- Pacific News Service, for support of New California Media, a project that distributes ethnic media content to mainstream print and broadcast outlets;
- Radio & Television News Directors Foundation, for leadership and management training for broadcast news directors;
- Society of Environmental Journalists, for continued support of the First Amendment Watchdog Project;
- The Media Institute, for general support;
- World Press Institute, for a global journalism fellowship program in the U.S. and workshops for journalism educators to teach reporting on governmental transparency.
The grants are the first awarded under the leadership of journalism program director Clark Bell, who joined the foundation in October.
“These grants represent the journalism program’s commitment to our established partners as well as our vow to seek out new initiatives that advance the program’s mission,” Bell said.
About the McCormick Tribune Foundation
The McCormick Tribune Foundation is one of the nation’s largest charitable organizations, with combined assets of approximately $1.4 billion. In 2004, the foundation approved the distribution of more than $109 million to invest in children, communities and our country in an effort to strengthen our democratic society through innovative partnerships. The foundation, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2005, was established as a charitable trust upon the death of Col. Robert R. McCormick, longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The foundation is an independent non-profit, separate from Tribune Co., with substantial holdings in Tribune Co.
The foundation provides assistance in four program areas—communities, education, journalism and citizenship—and funds a special initiatives program. Through its grants, the foundation seeks to improve the social and economic environment; encourage a free and responsible discussion of issues affecting the nation; enhance the effectiveness of American education; and stimulate responsible citizenship. For more information, visit
http://www.mccormicktribune.org/.
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