Vickey L. Williams to Direct Learning Newsroom Project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reston, VA - The American Press Institute (API) and the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) today announced that Vickey L. Williams will direct a $1 million, three-year project to help newsrooms improve their capacity to teach and learn the skills, topic knowledge and values they need to produce better journalism.

As director of the API/ASNE Learning Newsroom project, Williams will help bring training consultants and professional development experts into at least three model Learning Newsrooms each year.

The initiative, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, builds directly upon the work of the Readership Institute. A partnership involving the Newspaper Association of America, the Media Management Institute and McCormick Tribune Foundation, the Readership Institute identified culture improvement as a top priority for improving readership and circulation. The program will include an industry-wide report on suggestions for "creating better learning newsroom environments," to be released at the April 2005 convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE).

"The partner newspapers will learn how to build sustained environments for learning, then share ideas and findings for the benefit of the entire industry," Williams said.

Williams was formerly corporate editorial director for Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. (CNHI) in Birmingham, Ala., where she worked closely with the Readership Institute on training its editors, publishers and other executives on the Impact Study findings and implementing responses. Also, she provided customized newsroom training during site visits to more than 100 CNHI newspapers. Her previous newspaper experience includes serving as national editor of The Birmingham (AL) News and as metro editor of The Tampa (FL) Tribune.

"We are extremely excited to have Vickey Williams leading this important initiative for change within the newspaper industry," said Andrew B. Davis, president and executive director of API. "She has a lot of experience working on newsroom cultural issues with the Readership Institute and her addition will dramatically expand the reach and knowledge of API and its partners."

"The hiring of someone as accomplished as Vickey Williams is a huge step forward in this important work," said ASNE President Peter Bhatia, executive editor of The Oregonian in Portland, Ore. "The Learning Newsroom project is in great hands."

The Learning Newsroom grant is part of a $10 million, three-year newsroom training initiative launched in 2003 by Knight Foundation after 50 national journalism groups called for a unified, post-recession effort to increase both the amount of training available and the news industry's investment in it. In addition to the Learning Newsroom, other grants are creating News University, an e-learning center; the Traveling Campus, a permanent traveling skills training program; NewsTrain, a program for middle managers; and Tomorrow's Workforce, a project to help industry leaders understand and measure the benefits of professional development.

For more information about the Learning Newsroom, e-mail Vickey Williams at vwilliams@americanpressinstitute.org.

The American Press Institute (API) is an independent educational center for providing skills-training and leadership development in the news industry, offering myriad seminars, online training and on-site programs for newspaper professionals. API also spearheads the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, a nationwide effort to provide a forum and educational opportunities for improving the quality of American business journalism. API is also the home of the Media Center, which conducts research, educational programs and symposia and facilitates strategic conversations and planning on issues shaping the future of news, information and media. Visit API at www.americanpressinstitute.org.

Media Contact:
Elaine Clisham
(703) 715-3321
eclisham@americanpressinstitute.org

About Knight Foundation

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities where Knight brothers published newspapers. Since its first journalism grant in 1954, the foundation has given nearly $200 million to advance the education of journalism and freedom of the press.

Larry Meyer
(305) 908-2610
meyer@knightfdn.org

With about 750 members, ASNE is the principal organization of American newspaper editors. It is active in a number of areas, including open government, freedom of the press, journalism credibility and ethics, newsroom management, diversity and readership.

Kevin Wilcox
(703) 453-1132
kwilcox@asne.org