MJW Offers Taste of UA Life, Lots of Real-World Journalism

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — This summer, 25 high school journalism students will live on campus and learn from top educators and journalists during the 24th annual Multicultural Journalism Workshop scheduled for July 8-18 on The University of Alabama campus.

Students entering the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade or their first year of college in fall 2007 are eligible to attend.

Under the direction of faculty, visiting professionals and experienced college students, the workshop students will publish a newspaper and produce a news broadcast and web journal in the modern labs and studios of the UA College of Communication and Information Sciences, a national leader in the discipline.

UA alumni, high school media advisers, newspaper editors and broadcasters are invited to nominate students from their area to attend the workshop.

Dr. Ed Mullins, UA professor emeritus of journalism, will direct the workshop as a volunteer. This will be the third straight year that Mullins has directed the workshop and 24th consecutive year in which he has participated.

In addition to studying all forms of journalism, students take field trips to area newspapers and historic sites such as the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

Students or media advisers may request an application by writing the Department of Journalism, University of Alabama, Box 870172, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, by calling 205/348-7155 or by going online at http://www.ccom.ua.edu:16080/mjw/ to download a form.

Students must fill out the form, provide a transcript of grades and standardized test scores from a school official and submit a typed 250-word essay explaining their interest in journalism along with writing samples, a list of activities and work experience. A letter from a teacher, guidance counselor or media professional must accompany the packet.

The workshop is free. Its purpose is to let students learn about campus life while exploring a career in journalism. They share a UA dorm room, eat in UA dining halls and use other facilities of the 23,000-student campus.

“With hundreds of students from past workshops choosing to attend UA over other colleges, MJW has proven to be a good recruiting tool,” said Mullins, “but our main purpose is to get more people of color and more rank and file Americans into the journalism profession, which is so important to democracy.”

“Since its inception in 1984, more than 1,800 students have benefited from various parts of our comprehensive multicultural program,” said Dr. Caryl Cooper, C&IS assistant dean. “The workshop is one way we recognize our responsibility to build a strong student body and mass media.”

“Every year we make special preparations to ensure that our participants get a true taste of what it’s like to be a college student and a journalist,” said Mullins. “We hope that after 10 days in the workshop, many of these students are motivated to pursue journalism as a profession. We are very proud of our program, which has become a national leader in introducing students to college life and to journalism.”

Major donors to the program over the years have included the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund, Gannett Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Freedom Forum, Alabama Press Association Journalism Foundation, Alabama Broadcasters Association, The Tuscaloosa News, The Press-Register (Mobile), The Birmingham News, Cox Radio of Birmingham, and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International.

“Plans are under way now to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the workshop in 2008,” said Cooper, chairperson of the MJW advisory committee.