Newswise — Today the field of journalism is under siege.
In a Time's essay (Feb. 5, 2009), former managing editor Walter Isaacson wrote "the crisis in journalism has reached meltdown proportions."
And, yet, Inside Higher Education recently reported that applications to Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism have risen by about 40 percent since last year.
Where are we going to end up?
On Saturday, April 25, at 8 p.m. in Griffin Hall, room 3, on the Williams College campus, a distinguished group of journalists will consider the future of news and the institution of journalism.
The forum and a newly announced fellowship honor the memory of Jeffrey O. Jones (Williams '66), who as editor of the college's student newspaper displayed the journalistic flair that would distinguish his career in numerous media-related fields.
Forum on the Future of American JournalismWilliams CollegeApril 25, 20098 p.m.
Christopher Jones,Moderator Jones (Williams '62), Jeffrey's older brother, is a former commentator and senior correspondent with Fox Television News in New York City. Jones won multiple Emmys while serving as anchor, bureau chief, consumer ombudsman, and investigative reporter for Channel 5.
Thomas B. Edsall Edsall is the Pulitzer Professor of Journalism at the Columbia Journalism School. He spent 25 years covering national politics for The Washington Post. Edsall is now a correspondent for The New Republic, The Huffington Post, and The National Journal, and is the author of four books. He graduated from B.U. and was subsequently awarded fellowships from numerous universities, including the Hoover Institute at Stanford.
John Kifner Kifner joined The New York Times as a copyboy, fresh out of Williams ('63). Kifner spent the next four decades at The Times, as both a national and foreign correspondent, where he has covered the conflicts in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, and both Gulf Wars, receiving numerous awards for excellence in journalism.
Elizabeth Kolbert Kolbert has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1999. Among her magazine pieces have been profiles of Hillary Clinton, Michael Bloomberg, and Rudolph Giuliani. Her award-winning series on global warming, "The Climate of Man," appeared in 2005. Kolbert is a graduate of Yale and a former reporter for The New York Times.
Shayla Harris Harris (Williams '97) is a video producer with The New York Times. Previously, she earned a Peabody award for a documentary she produced for Dateline, called, "The Education of Ms. Groves." In other award-winning documentaries, she has investigated racial profiling and Ugandan child soldiers.
Thanks to the efforts of the Class of '66 an endowed fellowship in honor of their classmate will provide start-up funds to a graduating Williams senior for post-graduate work or study in the field of journalism. The first Jones fellow, a senior who most exemplifies the qualities for which Jones was widely admired: integrity, talent, independence of mind, wit, strength of character, skepticism of authority, and concern for others, will receive a cash grant of $10,000 to aid in launching a career in journalism. The recipient will be announced during the forum event.
During his time as a Williams College student, Jones was editor of the Williams Record. He was also a star athlete, winner of the prestigious Grosvenor Cup for dedicated service to the community, and a Rhodes Scholar finalist. After graduation, Jones spent time in Uruguay on a Fulbright Scholarship and earned a master's degree at Middlebury College's Foreign Language School before writing and directing films in Spain. Jones subsequently returned to Williams, where he taught Spanish and served as dean of first-years before being named editor of Psychology Today magazine and produced promotional and educational videos for CBS. In 1997, he won a New York Emmy for Outstanding Fine Arts Programming. Jones returned to academe as a professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology's School of Film and Animation. He died of lung cancer on Nov. 11, 2007.
Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college's 2,000 students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research. Students' educational experience is enriched by the residential campus environment in Williamstown, Mass., which provides a host of opportunities for interaction with one another and with faculty beyond the classroom. Admission decisions are made regardless of a student's financial ability, and the college provides grants and other assistance to meet the demonstrated needs of all who are admitted. To visit the college on the Internet:www.williams.edu
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