Freedom Forum Names 26 Chips Quinn Scholars for Summer 2010 Internship Program

NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Twenty-six students and young journalists from diverse backgrounds have been named Chips Quinn Scholars for summer 2010 by the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute and participating news organizations. Despite recent floods in the region, the Chips Quinn Scholar orientation and training will take place May 17-25 at the Freedom Forum's John Seigenthaler Center in Nashville, Tenn.

The 2010 scholars will work in paid internships at 22 different newsrooms across the country immediately following a weeklong orientation program and multimedia journalism class. They bring to 1,208 the number of men and women placed as reporters, copy editors, photographers, graphic artists and multimedia journalists since the program began with six Scholars in 1991.

"Diversity and relevant, responsible journalism are inseparable," said Jack Marsh, Freedom Forum vice president.  "It's no coincidence that the nation's most vibrant, healthy news organizations are passionate about diversity, inclusiveness and fairness in both their news practices and their employment practices. The 2010 summer class of Chips Quinn Scholars, distinguished by different backgrounds and life experiences, should help to excite colleagues in the newsrooms where they work and improve coverage of the communities those newsrooms serve."  

Chips Quinn Scholars are college students or recent graduates interested in journalism careers. After completing the intensive orientation and multimedia training program with veteran journalists, they will work in 10- to 12-week internships or in full-time jobs. Scholars are eligible for housing and travel stipends in addition to ongoing mentoring from the Freedom Forum.

"I have worked with the Chips Quinn Scholars program elsewhere and found it to be an excellent way to help keep editors focused on our mission of maintaining diverse newsrooms that reflect our communities," said Neill Borowski, executive editor and content director of The Press of Atlantic City. "When I joined The Press of Atlantic City last July and heard from the program, I was pleased to sign on to partner with its mission."

The training sessions in Nashville will include presentations and teaching by experienced journalists and industry leaders. Among the speakers are John C. Quinn, founder of the Chips Quinn Scholars program; John Seigenthaler, founder of the First Amendment Center; and Mark S. Luckie, journalist and author. Other speakers will include veteran alums of the program including Getahn Ward, health-care business reporter at The Tennessean; Sue Stock, retail reporter, The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C.; Jamesetta Walker, assistant city editor and style columnist at The Virginian-Pilot; Rick Jervis, Gulf Coast correspondent, USA TODAY; and Danese Kenon, photojournalist at The Indianapolis Star.

The Chips Quinn Scholars program (www.freedomforumdiversity.org) is an initiative of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute to help news organizations increase diversity in their newsrooms.

Freedom Forum former trustee John C. Quinn and his late wife, Loie, established the Chips Quinn Scholars program in memory of their son John C. "Chips" Quinn Jr., who was managing editor of the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal when he died in an automobile accident in 1990 at the age of 34.

The summer 2010 scholars, their schools and sponsoring media organizations are:

Lindsey Bomnin

Emory University

Austin (Texas) American-Statesman

April Kim Choi

University of Missouri

The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Kimberly Chua

San Francisco State University

Bay Area News Group, San Francisco

Danielle Cintron

Louisiana Tech University

St. Cloud (Minn.) Times

Marie De Jesus

Universidad del Sagrado Corazon

Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle

Shannon Epps

Hampton University

The Washington Post

Eboni Farmer

Howard University

The Roanoke (Va.) Times

Ilissa Gilmore

Wayne State University

Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette

Lizbeth Gonzalez

California State University-Los Angeles

The Oakland (Calif.) Tribune

Trevor Hunnicutt

Pomona College

The Associated Press, San Francisco

Sophia Li

Brown University

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington, D.C.

Phillip Lucas

Howard University

The Washington Post

Taryn Luna

Oregon State University

The Dallas Morning News

Mark Mock

Wayne State University

Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle

Bethany Mollenkof

Western Kentucky University

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Ilena Morales

University of Florida

The Associated Press, Washington, D.C.

Madoree Pipkins

Benedict College

The Philadelphia Daily News

Amanda Portillo

University of Arizona

The Orange County Register, Santa Ana, Calif.

Wesley Robinson

University of Kentucky

The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Ky.

Virginia Singarayar

Colorado State University

The Denver Post

Kelly Truong

Wellesley College

The Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington, D.C.

Roxana Vasquez

University of Arizona

St. Cloud (Minn.) Times

Jamila Williams

Ohio State University

The Morning Journal, Lorain, Ohio

Tiffany Williams

Tennessee State University

The Press of Atlantic City

June Wu

Harvard College

The Boston Globe

Molly Young

University of Nebraska

Star-Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.)

CONTACT: Karen Catone, 202/292-6271

SOURCE Diversity Institute