Scripps Howard Foundation commits $250,000 to continue news service

Reporters, alumni and faculty of the South Florida News Service at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC) this week announced a $250,000 commitment from the Scripps Howard Foundation, the charitable foundation of the E.W. Scripps Company, in support of the school’s South Florida News Service (SFNS).

The funds will be used to help sustain the SFNS and provide opportunities for students to get the “classroom as a newsroom” experience by reporting, writing and producing video packages for major news organizations. The program originated with the support and partnership of The Miami Herald, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post and has grown to include the Scripps’ Treasure Coast papers.

“This extraordinary gift from the Scripps Howard Foundation goes a long way in recognizing and supporting this groundbreaking media initiative,” said Raul Reis, dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at FIU. “Our students and faculty are thrilled to receive this strong endorsement and vote of confidence from Scripps.”

A number of the more than 300 student-produced news packages have been republished in non-partner media across the United States and Latin America. Alumni from the program have been hired at national media outlets including NBC News and Telemundo, as a result of their training in the news service. The program has garnered widespread international media attention and was recently cited as “a national model” by Clark Bell, McCormick Foundation’s Journalism Program Director.

“The South Florida News Service was a phenomenon when we started it over four years ago,” said Allan Richards, SJMC’s associate dean and an SFNS co-founder. “Marvelously impassioned students and tenacious faculty reported stories that might have gone unwritten and unread because of severe cutbacks in the newsrooms. We are so grateful to the Scripps Howard Foundation for believing in the SFNS as a valuable source of news for our community and for providing this generous sustaining grant.”

“This is a wonderful opportunity for students to get a real professional experience in an academic setting,” said Scripps Howard Foundation President Mike Philipps. “FIU has demonstrated once again how creative and effective they can be in teaching both the core values of journalism and the skills needed in a digital world.”

The SFNS operates out of the SJMC on the Biscayne Bay Campus under the direction of News Director Chris Delboni. For more on the SFNS and its stories, visit the program online at http://sfnsonline.com.

Dedicated to excellence in journalism, the Scripps Howard Foundation (scripps.com/foundation) is a leader in industry efforts in journalism education, scholarships, internships, literacy, minority recruitment/development and First Amendment causes. With a special commitment to the regions where Scripps does business, the foundation helps build healthy communities and improve the quality of life through support of sound educational programs, strong families, vital social services, enriching arts and culture and inclusive civic affairs. The foundation is the philanthropic arm of The E.W. Scripps Company (www.scripps.com), a leading media enterprise that operates 19 television stations and newspapers in 13 markets, in addition to Scripps Howard News Service, and a digital group that offers new information and entertainment products and technology.