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J-Team provides intensive training today at University of Iowa in response to college censorship
MEDIA ADVISORY
Aug. 28, 2015
Contacts:
David Cuillier, SPJ FOI Committee Chair, 520-248-6242(MST), spjdave@yahoo.com
Jennifer Royer, SPJ Communications Strategist, 317-361-4134, jroyer@spj.org
WHO: The J-Team, which is comprised of the Society of Professional Journalists, Student Press Law Center, and Investigative Reporters & Editors, and journalism students from Muscatine Community College and the University of Iowa. Trainers include Frank LoMonte of SPLC and Alex Richards of IRE. Erica Perel, editorial adviser of The Daily Tar Heel, and Emily Richmond, public editor, Education Writers Association will also join via Skype. This boot-camp is hosted by Daily Iowan publisher William Casey.
WHAT: The first outing of the J-Team, an intensive day-long boot-camp training project aimed at providing support to college journalists who are facing unusual levels of adversity in covering their campuses, including hands-on investigative reporting training and ongoing mentoring and guidance to college journalists whose institutions have used their authority to shut down independent watchdog news coverage. The workshop aims at helping students more effectively expose the stories their college is intent on keeping secret.
WHEN: 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., TODAY, Friday, Aug. 28.
WHERE: The Daily Iowan newsroom on the University of Iowa campus, E131 Adler Journalism Building on the University of Iowa campus.
WHY: Journalists from Muscatine Community College’s newspaper, The Calumet, are suing their college for removing a supportive journalism adviser and otherwise retaliating against the newspaper over coverage that included reporting on a faculty committee member who voted to give a competitive scholarship to his own niece. In response to the censorship, a group of current and former MCC students raised more than $5,000 in an online crowdfunding campaign to launch a new independent media outlet, The Spotlight, which will supplement the efforts of The Calumet. The nationally publicized censorship case is pending in U.S. district court.
PLEASE NOTE: In addition to in-person interviews during today’s workshop, Frank LoMonte is available to interview by phone at 404-545-1195. David Cuillier is also available by phone at 520-248-6242. The day’s agenda is below:
J-Team Reporting Workshop
The Daily Iowan
Friday, Aug. 28
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