Starting in 2019, graduate students studying journalism at the University of Maryland will have access to a special center for investigative reporting.
The university will receive $3 million over three years to house the center, which will recruit students to study topics ranging from data mining to the history and ethics of investigative journalism, according to a news release.
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They’ll also “work with news organizations across the country to report stories of national or international importance to the public,” the release said.
Arizona State University will also host a center. Both of them will be funded by the Scripps Howard Foundation, a philanthropic arm of broadcasting company E.W. Scripps, which owns a host of radio and TV stations across the country.
The centers will be named after Roy Howard, a former reporter and chairman of the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain.
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“Investigative journalists shine a light on our society’s problems and protect democracy by holding the powerful accountable,” said Lucy Dalglish, dean of this university’s journalism school, in the release. “The Howard Center at Merrill College will provide an unmatched opportunity for our students to learn to tell important stories in innovative ways, preparing them to become outstanding professional journalists.”
Both centers will start searches for directors in the fall, according to the release.