African Journalists Coming to Visit UGA and Various Media Outlets

By Sara Freeman

Ten African journalists will visit the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication Nov. 1-5 to discuss broadcast journalism, media education, the job market, new media and business models. Their visit is part of the Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists and is sponsored by the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

The journalists are from French-speaking countries including Burundi, Congo, Niger and Senegal. The Murrow Program is and Grady College was selected as one of 10 journalism schools to host a group. Their visit is hosted by the James M. Cox Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research.

The Murrow Program sponsors nearly 100 journalists from around the world to participate in the three-week visit. The program is designed as an exchange of best practices, an overview of free press in a democracy and the opportunity for the Murrow Fellows to gain insight into the social economic and political structures of the U.S. The Murrow Program started six years ago and the Cox International Center has been invited to participate as a host for the past five years.  

“This is one of the most important journalism programs of the Department of State,” said Tudor Vlad, senior research scientist for the Cox International Center. “The Department of State picks the host schools based on recommendations and feedback, and the Cox International Center is honored to have been selected five years in a row.”

While they are on UGA’s campus Nov. 4-5, the Murrow Fellows will meet with several professors and students. They also will have a chance to watch a daily Grady NewSource broadcast, hear a briefing about the Peabody Awards and participate in a session at UGA’s African Studies Institute.

“Most of the visiting journalists are young and leaders in their organizations,” Vlad continued. “Having our students interact with them is very beneficial.”

The traveling journalists will be visiting the U.S. for three weeks. For the first two weeks, all 100 participants will be in Washington, D.C., and New York City. They will then break into 10 groups to visit their host locations. On Nov. 1, the Murrow Fellows visiting Grady College will arrive in Atlanta and spend two days meeting with editors from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and CNN. They also will tour the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, Georgia Aquarium and the High Museum of Art, among other places.

For a complete list of host schools and more information about the Murrow Fellows Program, click here.