U.S. funds upstate journalism center
A new, federally funded program will create a Local Journalism Center in Upstate New York that will focus on providing in-depth news reports on innovative technology and its role in rebuilding upstate New York’s economy.
Five public broadcasting stations, including WXXI Public Broadcasting and stations in Buffalo, Oswego/Syracuse, Binghamton and Albany will partner in the initiative, which will be paid for by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a nonprofit group created and funded by Congress.
The journalism center will hire five reporters, one at each station, and an editor and managing facilitator at WXXI to coordinate coverage and maintain Web content.
The upstate center will be one of five across the country. Each has chosen a theme for its coverage focused on a particular issue relevant to communities throughout their region.
In the Southwest, for example, a bilingual reporting team from seven stations will focus on cultural shifts that are transforming the Southwest, including Latino, Native American and border issues.
In upstate New York, the center will focus on “The Innovation Trail,” according to a press release from WXXI.
“The center’s extensive multimedia reporting will help the public gain a better understanding of the impact of investment in research and technology projects across the region, the ways that colleges, universities and medical centers are working to create opportunities in emerging technologies, and other industry efforts to transition from a manufacturing base to a knowledge economy,” according to the press release from WXXI.
