14 Journalists Chosen for 2012 IJJ Immigration in the Heartland Fellowship

IJJ / UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA’S GAYLORD COLLEGE
Feb. 28, 2012

With immigration policy front and center in this year’s political campaigns, 14 journalists have been selected to take part in a fellowship program that challenges reporters to go beyond familiar sound bites and cover the complexities of immigration with depth and context.

The 2012 Immigration in the Heartland program is being conducted by the Institute for Justice and Journalism in partnership with the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication and its Institute for Research and Training. It is funded by a grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.

An April 20-25 conference will feature discussions with experts, field reporting and professional workshops at Gaylord College in Norman and in Oklahoma City. Issues to be explored include the election-year debate over immigration policy, the electoral impact of immigrants, the demographics of immigration, new developments in state legislation and the effect of federal, state and local enforcement programs.

The selected journalists, from print, broadcast and online reporting sites, are:
• Graham Brewer, Oklahoma Watch
• Kate Brumback, Associated Press, Atlanta
• Cindy Carcamo, Orange County Register, Santa Ana, Calif.
• Kristen Hare, St. Louis Beacon
• Sandra Hernandez, Los Angeles Times
• Jude Joffe-Block, KNPR Nevada Public Radio, Las Vegas
• Maria Martin, freelancer, NPR and Latino USA, Antigua, Guatemala
• David Montero, Salt Lake Tribune
• Monica Ortiz Uribe, KRWG Radio, Las Cruces, N.M.
• Erica Pearson, New York Daily News
• Jeremy Redmon, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• Edward Sifuentes, North County Times, San Diego.
• Jessica Weisberg, freelancer, the Guardian (U.K.), Chicago
• Maria Zamudio, The Chicago Reporter

Each fellow will produce an in-depth project story or a series of shorter stories about immigration.

The program’s faculty includes seven IJJ senior fellows: Vallery Brown, staff reporter at the Oklahoman; Daniel Kowalski, immigration attorney and editor-in-chief of Bender’s Immigration Bulletin; Phuong Ly, director of Gateway California; Kari Lydersen, Chicago freelancer; Martha Mendoza, national writer for the Associated Press; Dianne Solís, senior writer at the Dallas Morning News, and Warren Vieth, a Gaylord College professor.

OU’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers course work in three main focus areas: journalism, media arts and strategic communication.

The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation was established by Edith Kinney Gaylord to support projects designed to improve the quality and ethical standards of journalism. It is based in Oklahoma City.

The Institute for Justice and Journalism, based in Oakland, Calif., supports in-depth reporting and commentary through professional development fellowships and workshops. IJJ is an independent 501(c)3 organization, building on nine years of affiliation with the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California. Its website provides reporting resources to strengthen journalism about justice issues.

For additional information, please contact Phuong Ly, phuongyenly@gmail.com or Warren Vieth, wvieth@sbcglobal.net.