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McCormick Foundation Invests $4 million in Journalism Initiatives

Grants target youth journalism, ethnic media and First Amendment issues

Contact: Abby Taylor
ATaylor@McCormickFoundation.org
312 222 3188


CHICAGO, Sep 15, 2008

The McCormick Foundation Board of Directors recently approved more than $4 million in new Journalism grants. Of that, $1.97 million is earmarked for 2009 activities, and $2.1 million will be invested in subsequent years. The money will be granted to 22 organizations, many of them for high school and college journalism initiatives. Through the Journalism program’s grantees, the McCormick Foundation reinforces Robert R. McCormick’s passionate belief in the First Amendment and life-long commitment to promoting and protecting a free press in our democratic society.

"These grants support our focus on innovation, integration and invigoration of the news media," said Clark Bell, Journalism program director, McCormick Foundation. “Our grants address the full spectrum of challenges and opportunities in the profession, ranging from training for high school students to leadership development for senior media executives.”

The McCormick Foundation’s Journalism program continues to invest in organizations that promote journalistic ethics, boost training for young journalists and enable journalists to develop specialized skills that meet society’s changing needs. Since the program’s inception in 1993, the McCormick Foundation has invested more than $85 million in support of journalism initiatives that reflect the legacy of former Tribune editor and publisher Robert R. McCormick.

“The Journalism program supports a free, vigorous and diverse news media and is committed to invigorating the profession of journalism and instilling a sense of service,” said David L. Grange, president and chief executive officer, McCormick Foundation. “By helping aspiring journalists develop skills—while encouraging ethics, objectivity and public service—the Foundation enhances the future of the profession and contributes to a more engaged, better informed citizenry.”

2009 Program Grant Highlights
In efforts to promote appreciation and awareness of the First Amendment, the McCormick Foundation granted $100,000 to the American Society of Newspaper Editors Foundation, Inc. for the Liberty Tree Initiative. The two-year grant will be used to seed 10 selected colleges and universities for conferences and celebrations to educate the students about free speech and media. The grant will also fund the creation of a Web site that displays the Liberty Tree Initiative’s efforts and focus.

Columbia College Chicago will receive a $250,000 grant for its Columbia Links journalism project. The two-year grant will assist in providing journalism training to Chicago area high school students and faculty. This is the McCormick Foundation’s first multi-year grant for Columbia Links, which has already funded youth training for 25 of the city’s 100-plus high schools. The McCormick Foundation has awarded $3.3 million in youth media programs since 2006, most of them serving high students in the Chicago area.

About the McCormick Foundation’s Journalism Program
The Journalism program continues to reinforce the passionate belief of Robert R. McCormick in the First Amendment and the role of the media in a free democratic society. In 2007, the Journalism program’s grants funded nearly 350 workshops, seminars, conferences and briefings. These programs were attended by an estimated 20,000 journalists, media managers, academics, publishers, students, policymakers and others throughout the Americas. The Journalism program has a 2008 grant making budget of more than $6.2 million. The Program’s four priority funding areas are News Leadership, Journalism Education, Free Speech and Youth Media.

Below is the complete listing of the third-quarter grants approved by the McCormick Foundation’s Board of Directors:

 

Journalism Program Grants

 

Journalism Education

 

  1. Center for Media and Security (Millwood, NY)

For general support

$100,000
  1. Columbia College (Chicago, IL)

To support community and ethnic-based media

$150,000
  1. International Center for Journalists, Inc. (Washington, D.C)

To support a training initiative for reporters at Spanish community radio stations

$217,000
  1. Investigative Reporters and Editors (Columbia, MO)

To assist in conducting customized workshops for ethnic media reporters

$100,000
  1. Kansas University Endowment Association (Lawrence, KS)

To strengthen its  Military and the Media Projects

$50,000
  1. Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)

For the Medill School of Journalism and its national security training initiatives

$1,355,000
  1. The Trustees of Indiana University (Indianapolis, IN)

To launch a Nonprofit and Philanthropy Reporting Program

$75,000
  1. University of Colorado Foundation

To launch the Resolving Door community journalism project

$110,000
  1. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)

For coverage on urban environmental justice

$120,000
  1. West Virginia University Foundation, Inc.(Morgantown, WV)

To launch a multimedia training program between journalism schools and rural newspapers

$85,000

Free Speech

 

  1. American Society of Newspaper Editors Foundation, Inc. (Reston, VA)

For the Liberty Tree Initiative

$100,000
  1. Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa, Inc. (Miami, FL)

To increase broad public appreciated for free press in the Americas

$200,000

News Leadership

 

  1. American Press Institute, Inc (Reston, VA)

To maintain its Transformation Series seminars and enhance media restructure

$75,000
  1. National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (Washington, DC)

To support broadcast diversity development programs and a college First Amendment program

$150,000
  1. The Poynter Institute for Media Studies (St. Petersburg, FL)

To support the McCormick Change Leadership Fellows

$90,000
  1. Research Foundation of City University of New York (New York, NY)

To support a New Business Models for News initiative

$155,000
  1. Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education (Oakland, CA)

For the Media Academy , Editing Program, and Web operations

$160,000

Youth Media

 

  1. Columbia College Chicago (Chicago, IL)

To continue support for the Columbia Links high-school journalism training project

$250,000
  1. Community Television Network (Chicago, IL)

For general support of its “Hard Cover” journalism training program

$90,000
  1. Radio and Television News Directors Foundation (Fredericksburg, VA)

To provide assistance for a High School Teacher Television Camp

$150,000
  1. We the People Media (Chicago, IL)

For general support of the Urban Youth International Journalism Program

$90,000
  1. Roosevelt University (Chicago, IL)

To continue support for the McCormick Foundation High School Media Awards

$100,000

Total

$4,072,000

 

The board also approved the following grants:

 

 

Education Program Grants

 

Quality Assurance Strategies

 

  1. Erikson Institute (Chicago, IL)

To support its fundraising campaign, Fulfilling the Promise

$1,000,000
  1. Columbia College Chicago (Chicago, IL)

For a  professional development initiative that will target mid-level management in 10 community-based agencies

$600,000

Total

$1,600,000

 

Communities Program Grants

 

Ducks Charities Fund

  1. Discovery Science Center of Orange County (Anaheim, CA)

For the Science of Hockey program, which provides educational podcasts, math and science curriculum materials to visitor field trip services and science demonstrations to 8,000 low-income student visitors

$350,000

 

 

Total

$350,000

 

 

Third-Quarter Grand Total

$6,022,000


About the McCormick Foundation
The McCormick Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to strengthening our free, democratic society by investing in children, communities and country. Through its five grantmaking programs, Cantigny Park and Golf, and three world-class museums, the Foundation helps build a more active and engaged citizenry. It was established as a charitable trust in 1955, upon the death of Colonel Robert R. McCormick, the longtime editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune. The McCormick Foundation is one of the nation’s largest charities, with $1.2 billion in assets. For more information, please visit www.McCormickFoundation.org.