SU student one of 30 admitted to Journalism Institute

Southern University Mass Communications graduate student Latrice Pinkins was one of 30 students nationwide chosen to participate in the The New York Times Student Journalism Institute May 13 to 26 at Dillard University in New Orleans.

The Institute has graduated 150 students from historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and gained recognition as one of the top training opportunities for talented young journalists. Students from the Institute have gone on to jobs at newspapers around the country, including many major metropolitan dailies – The New York Times and The Boston Globe among them.

“Now in its fifth year, the Institute continues to draw some of the best and brightest talent in the field of journalism,” said William E. Schmidt, assistant managing editor of The New York Times.

“Our collaboration with the Black College Communications Association and historically black colleges and universities in this program has produced a large and lasting benefit in diversifying America's newsrooms, including those of our company.”

The Institute accepts applications from students at HBCUs around the country and selects the top 30, including reporters, editors, photographers and graphic designers. Applicants are required to send an essay and six clips; photographers may elect to send six prints.

During the program, newsroom staffers from The New York Times, The Boston Globe and the regional newspapers of the Times Company work individually with the students in a newsroom setting. The students are assigned to cover real news and the results are posted on a Web site (NYTimes-Institute.com), with the best work published in a newspaper at the end of the Institute.

The program is a collaborative venture with the Black College Communications Association, an organization of faculty members committed to developing strong journalism programs at HBCUs.

The 30 students selected for this year’s program represent 18 HBCUs from around the country. The program accepts applications from promising students in any class year who are in good academic standing and have worked for at least one semester on a student publication.

Derrick Hackett, director, student media, SUBR, works with the institute.
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2006 revenues of $3.3 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 30 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.