Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Communication, Professional
Date of Award
5-2006
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
John M. King
Committee Members
James J. Mooney, Ardis L. Nelson
Abstract
Columbia University's Summer Program, created by Fred Friendly, was the first enduring effort to prepare non-whites for jobs in the news media. It operated from 1968 to 1974 at the Graduate School of Journalism, training 223 journalists for print and broadcast jobs. Three decades after the closing of this elite program, 110 graduates responded to a telephone survey on attitudes toward first employers, careers, and their experiences at Columbia. Results from this exploratory study show respondents spent an average 17.6 years in news media after the Summer Program, and 30.9 percent of respondents spent thirty years or more in journalism. Nearly 42 percent of respondents said they were promoted in their first jobs, and 29.1 percent became managers or supervisors in mainstream media news. Those who left news media cited reasons that seem to contradict results of earlier retention studies on people of color. Graduates rated the training highly.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Basconi, Mary Alice, "Training for Diversity in Journalism: Tracking the Columbia Summer Program Graduates, 1968-1974." (2006). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2173. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2173
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.
Included in
Educational Sociology Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons