Cronkite School hosts Edward R. Murrow Journalists

Twelve international journalists are visiting the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University as part of the U.S. State Department’s prestigious Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists.

Named in honor of the late CBS News journalist, the Murrow Program brings young international media professionals to the United States to study journalism practices and create new professional contacts. The program is a public-private partnership between the State Department and several of the nation’s top journalism schools. Since 2006, more than 1,000 international journalists have studied in the United States through the program.

More than 100 emerging leaders in the field of journalism from around the world are participating this year. The three-week program starts in Washington, D.C. and ends in New York. ASU is one of nine partner universities hosting groups of Murrow Program participants as they travel the country to understand media coverage of politics and government.

The group of 12 visiting the Cronkite School is from the East Asia-Pacific region. This year’s cohort, nominated by U.S. embassies in their home countries, comes from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Taiwan, Tonga and Vietnam.

This is the fourth year that Cronkite has hosted the Murrow Program. Last year, the school welcomed 17 journalists from sub-Saharan Africa.

“The East Asia-Pacific region of the world is a vibrant, expanding and significant part of the world,” said B. William Silcock, associate professor in the Cronkite School and director of Cronkite Global Initiatives. “For our students, faculty and staff to hear firsthand from the best and brightest journalists in this region is a true honor and wonderful opportunity. We’re ready to learn all that they can teach and share.”

The participants visit the Cronkite School from Oct. 31 to Nov. 6. They will examine national and state politics and American journalism through sessions taught by Cronkite faculty such as Leonard Downie Jr., Weil Family Professor of Journalism and former executive editor of The Washington Post, and Aaron Brown, Walter Cronkite Professor of Journalism and former CNN anchor.

This year’s group also will study the influence of social media on journalism. They will participate in several interactive sessions with social media thought leaders at Cronkite and media outlets such as The Arizona Republic.

During their three-week visit, journalists participate in a question-and-answer session with Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington, D.C. They also hear from journalists from national media outlets, such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN and Fox News, in New York and Washington, D.C.

Other universities participating in the Murrow Program include the University of Georgia, Louisiana State University, University of Minnesota, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, University of Oklahoma, University of South Florida-St. Petersburg, Syracuse University and University of Tennessee.

The Cronkite School also hosts the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship in journalism, a partnership with the U.S. State Department and the Institute of International Education that brings accomplished mid-career journalists from designated countries to the United States for 10 months of intensive academic study and professional experience.