Cronkite School, CBS 5 host Meredith Fellows

The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University will host 10 of the nation’s top broadcast journalism students from underrepresented groups this week as part of the school’s Meredith Fellowship Program.

The program, a partnership among the Cronkite School, Meredith Corp. and CBS 5, KPHO-TV, is designed to prepare the next generation of broadcast journalists. Fellows spend the week working in the CBS 5 newsroom with KPHO reporters, producers, editors and videographers and instructors from the Cronkite School, receiving hands-on experience creating news packages and anchoring newscasts on deadline while learning about newsroom ethics and leadership.

At the end of the week, fellows will present reports from the field and in the studio.

The program is led by Mark Lodato, the Cronkite School’s assistant dean and news director, Sue Green, broadcast director of Cronkite News Service, Michelle Donaldson, CBS 5 news director and Leona Wood, assistant news director.

“The Meredith-Cronkite Fellowship program has achieved tremendous success over the past five years, and it continues to evolve,” Lodato said. “This year we’ve made some changes to the curriculum to ensure the participants are well-qualified to enter a changing news industry. There’s really nothing quite like it in the country.”

Ten fellows are selected for the program each year in a competitive process, half from the Cronkite School and half from other schools. Since the program’s inception in 2007, participating fellows have come from schools around the country, including Howard University, University of California at Berkeley, University of Maryland, University of Missouri, University of North Carolina, University of Southern California and others.

Ed Munson, vice president and general manager of KPHO, said that Meredith Corp. and CBS 5 are thrilled to continue partnering with the Cronkite School to offer the fellowship program.  

“The program allows us to invest in the future news creators of our industry while helping ensure that the newsrooms of America are inclusive of diverse voices,” he said.

The Cronkite School, named in honor of the longtime CBS News anchor, is one of the country’s pre-eminent journalism schools. The Meredith Corp. is one of the nation’s leading media and marketing companies, with interests in television broadcasting, magazine and book publishing, integrated marketing and interactive media. The company owns 14 television stations that reach nearly 10 percent of TV households across the country.

2012 Meredith Fellows

• Lydia Camarillo, Arizona State University

• Kyle Inskeep, Butler University

• Jonah Javad, University of Missouri

• Aisha Morales, Arizona State University

• Amanda Munoz, Arizona State University

• Nathan O'Neal, Arizona State University

• Jonathan Ortiz, Arizona State University

• Denise Sawyer, Howard University

• Brittany Tom, University of California, Berkeley

• Liberty Zabala, California State University, Northridge