ABC News launched their new ABC News On Campus initiative today. As TVNewser first reported in May, the program includes partnerships with college journalism programs and a dedicated web site for all material.
The colleges involved in the program include Arizona State University, Syracuse University, University of Florida (bureau pictured), University of North Carolina and University of Texas.
The bureaus opened before today’s launch date, and the site (ABCNewsOnCampus.com) is full of student journalist reporting. “Reporters have been working, as have the other bureaus’ reporters, putting together pieces on a full range of stories,” one of Syracuse University’s faculty advisor’s Frank Currier told TVNewser.
The topics by the SU reporters have ranged from Joe Biden and his time at SU Law, women college Republican’s reaction to the Sarah Palin choice and the premiere of “The Express” on campus tonight.
The campus correspondents are paid by ABC News for their work, and expected to “be aggressive” in their output, said Currier.
“No one has any allusions about competing for airtime with Charlie Gibson or GMA, although that could happen, but we know realistically the web site is their home,” said Currier.
Click continued to see the note from ABC News president David Westin announcing the launch…
I am pleased to announce the official kick-off of our ABC News On Campus initiative, a partnership with five top journalism schools across the country to educate and mentor talented college students. We have created these campus multimedia bureaus to provide an opportunity for student journalists to report on stories in their regions and produce content for ABC News digital and broadcast platforms.
The college bureaus debut their content today at our new ABC News On Campus dedicated web site http://www.abcnewsoncampus.com. They are off to an impressive start covering a wide range of stories from politics to student loans to binge drinking. The site also includes a “Campus Chatter” blog, “On Campus Sound Off,” a section where participants can see their comments posted, and in the coming weeks, the site will feature a dedicated sports section called “ABC’s Wide World of College Sports.”
ABC News NOW will debut a new program called “ABC News NOW On Campus” on Thursday, October 2, hosted by Tanya Rivero. The weekly half-hour show will air on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. EST.
The 2008 ABC News on Campus colleges and their bureau chiefs are:
• Emily Graham, Student Bureau Chief: Arizona State University, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
• Jason Tarr , Student Bureau Chief: Syracuse University, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
• Robert Bradfield, Student Bureau Chief: University of Florida, College of Journalism and Communications
• Carly Swain, Student Bureau Chief, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication
• Sara Loeffelholz, Student Bureau Chief, University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism
John Green is supervising and managing the program with Sandy Sidey and a team at ABC News headquarters in New York. Barbara Garcia is managing editor of the program, overseeing the day-to-day content and story development from the college journalists. The student bureau chiefs and faculty liaisons will visit ABC News headquarters for on-site mentoring at the end of September and I hope many of you will have the opportunity to meet them. This is a very exciting initiative and I encourage all of us at ABC News to give it our support.