New Freedom Forum Diversity Fellows Announced

By: E&P Staff A new class of fellows will start at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute on Monday, Jan. 24. The 12-week training program, held at Vanderbilt University, is designed for people of color who want to become journalists but have had little or no formal journalism training.

Among the 16 new Diversity Institute fellows are Terrance Dean, a former MTV production manager and motivational speaker and author; Laura Luxor, who taught in an elementary school and worked with a local Denver police task force on gangs; and Janar Stewart, a freelance photographer.

Upon completing the Diversity Institute program, Dean will become a reporter at The New York Sun, Luxor will become a reporter at a Scripps Howard newspaper, and Stewart hopes to become a reporter and news photographer at the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune.

?These sixteen individuals will bring a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences to this class, our largest to date,? Charles L. Overby, chairman, chief executive officer and president of the Freedom Forum, said in a statement. ?Their unique perspectives will add excitement and insight to the program, just as it will to the newsrooms they?ll soon join.?

Diversity Institute fellows are people seeking a mid-career change or recent college graduates. Applicants are nominated by newspaper editors, generally in the applicant?s hometown. Participating newspapers agree to hire the nominees as full-time journalists after they have completed the program.

The intensive course features lectures by institute staff and a range of professional journalists who serve as guest speakers and journalists-in-residence on a weekly basis. Fellows receive hands-on training in all aspects of print journalism -- reporting, writing, editing, photography, ethics and other core values of journalism

New fellows at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute and their sponsoring newspapers are:

? Bobbie Burks, The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer
? Terri Carter, The Advocate Messenger, Danville, Ky.
? Terrance Dean, The New York Sun
? Corey Johnson, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
? Lakendra Lewis, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times
? Laura Luxor, Scripps Howard
? Wayne Ma, the Quad-City Times, Davenport, Iowa
? Linda McKnight, The Gaston (N.C.) Gazette
? Leopoldo Miramon, the Imperial Valley Press, El Centro, Calif.
? Ahmar Musti Khan, The Times, Shreveport, La.
? Sharon Narcisse, the Daily American, Somerset, Penn.
? Elizabeth Roman, the Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Mass.
? Jacqueline Sanchez, the Star-Herald, Scottsbluff, Neb.
? Christopher Sanders, the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser
? Janar Stewart, the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune
? Hanna Tamrat, The Oakland (Calif.) Tribune