Media Advisory: The Pulitzer Center on crisis reporting comes to the Triad
Three Triad schools, intent on providing a global perspective to journalism education on their campuses, have teamed up to join the Campus Consortium of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that supports the cause of international reporting.
The schools are Wake Forest University, High Point University and Guilford College. They have jointly entered into a two-year agreement with the Pulitzer Center that will bring top foreign correspondents to the Triad twice a year. The agreement also provides for fellowships at each school to support students intent on pursuing overseas stories under the mentorship of Pulitzer Center-sponsored reporters. The Pulitzer Center’s Campus Consortium is a growing network of more than a dozen universities and colleges aimed at raising awareness of systemic international concerns often underreported on in US media and at considering the local links to these issues.
The Triad Consortium-Pulitzer Center partnership launches in early April when photographer Stephanie Sinclair and journalist Cynthia Gorney visit the three campuses to discuss their examination of the heart-breaking, age-old ritual of child brides around the world. National Geographic published their work on the subject in the June 2011 issue.
“Our partnership with Wake Forest, High Point and Guilford brings the Campus Consortium home for me,” said Pulitzer Center Executive Director Jon Sawyer, who grew up in Winston-Salem and whose mother Betsy Ivey Sawyer remains active in the community. “We are honored to join with these schools to focus on global issues that must concern us all and to raise the level of discussion. We look forward to also working with the students as they explore global concerns and bring these stories to new audiences.”
Sinclair and Gorney will meet with faculty and students on the three campuses during the week of April 2. While each school will hold an evening event, the featured public event this spring will be at Wake Forest when Sinclair and Gorney are highlighted in the Voices of Our Times speakers series on April 3 from 6:30 pm to 8 pm at Brendle Auditorium on campus.
Over an eight-year period, Sinclair traveled to Afghanistan, Ethiopia, India, Nepal and Yemen to complete her project Too Young to Wed: The Secret World of Child Brides. Her haunting photographs expose the painful consequences of this hidden tradition that impacts 51 million girls worldwide. Sinclair’s work for National Geographic took first place in the contemporary issues/stories category of the 2012 World Press Photo; her video project with the Pulitzer Center won second place in the issue reporting/multimedia category of Pictures of the Year International. Gorney joined the faculty at the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism in 1999, after a career at The Washington Post as an award-winning national features writer and South American bureau chief. She is the author of Articles of Faith: A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars. Gorney currently is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and National Geographic.
“When I first met folks with the Pulitzer Center in Washington last year, I could see right away that joining the Campus Consortium could be beneficial at so many levels,” said Justin Catanoso, the new director of journalism at Wake Forest who has been a reporter and editor in the Triad for 25 years. “It will highlight the importance of overseas reporting when so many news organizations are cutting back. It could provide the inspiration for future foreign correspondents. And it would be a unique way to promote regional cooperation by having three schools work closely together to co-host a valuable collaboration.”
Wilfred Tremblay, Dean of the School of Communication at High Point University, said that HPU has a tradition of bringing inspiring speakers to its campus. “We are particularly delighted that our students will have the chance to hear from top-level Pulitzer Center journalists who are doing important work around the globe, such as the project to understand the history and consequences of child marriage. This partnership with the Campus Consortium will help our students learn to observe the world, listen with open minds, and illuminate similar critical issues for others.”
“Guilford’s partnership with the Pulitzer Center will enhance the educational experience of students who have an interest in international reporting,” said Jeff Jeske, Dana professor of English. “Also, it will allow us to add an international tier to our social justice reporting in The Guilfordian. Our students have seldom had the opportunity to travel abroad to do their reporting on-site or to benefit directly from the guidance of professional journalists who report internationally. This, like our social justice reporting involving the campus and the city, will support the Center for Principled Problem Solving, one of Guilford’s signature programs.”
High Point University and Guilford College will host featured public events with Pulitzer Center-sponsored journalists in Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 respectively.
About The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting is an innovative award-winning non-profit journalism organization dedicated to supporting the independent international journalism that US media organizations are increasingly less able to undertake. The Center focuses on under-reported topics, promoting high-quality international reporting and creating platforms that reach broad and diverse audiences. Supporting on average 60 reporting projects from around the world each year, it has developed a network of more than 180 journalists and has partnered with dozens of outlets ranging from The Washington Post and PBS NewsHour to Foreign Policy and The Atlantic. The Center’s educational programs provide students with fresh information on global issues, help them think critically about the creation and dissemination of news, and inspire them to become active consumers and producers of information. http://pulitzercenter.org
About High Point University
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people.℠ HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with over 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report at No. 3 among Regional Colleges in the South. Parade Magazine lists HPU in the top 25 private schools in the nation. HPU was selected in the 2010-11 list of “Colleges of Distinction,” as well as one of the top green schools in the country by the Sierra Club. The university offers 44 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors and 10 graduate degree programs. It is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. www.highpoint.edu
About Guilford College
Guilford College in Greensboro, founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), is an independent college of 2,700 traditional-aged and adult students that is distinguished by a commitment to the liberal arts, principled problem solving, social responsibility and core values of community, diversity, equality, excellence, integrity, justice and stewardship. The College is widely respected for its excellence in teaching, interdisciplinary curriculum and service learning. It is among only 40 schools in Colleges That Change Lives and in 100 Best Value Colleges by The Princeton Review. Guilford is a signatory of the American Colleges and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment and is recognized as one of America’s greenest colleges by The Princeton Review. www.guilford.edu
About Wake Forest University:
Wake Forest University combines the best traditions of a small liberal arts college with the resources of a large research university. Founded in 1834, the school is located in Winston-Salem, N.C. The University’s graduate school of arts and sciences, divinity school, and nationally ranked schools of law, medicine and business enrich our intellectual environment. Learn more about Wake Forest University at www.wfu.edu.
Contact:
Stephanie Skordas, 336-758-3826, skordas@wfu.edu
