MORGANTOWN, W.V. — A new program that prepares students to become the next generation of community newspaper owners and publishers has named its first group of fellows.
NewStart, a local news ownership initiative created by West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media in collaboration with the West Virginia Press Association, aims to recruit, train and support a collaborative community of media entrepreneurs who can work together to create a sustainable model for local journalism.
Fellows will earn a master’s degree as they receive training on how to manage, operate and grow their media properties. The program also sets out to match fellows with publications that want to sell and provides a comprehensive ownership transition plan.
The inaugural NewStart fellows include Tony Baranowski, the director of local media for Times Citizen Communications in Iowa Falls, Iowa; Crystal Good, the founder and CEO of Mixxed Media in Charleston, West Virginia; Miles Layton, editor of the Perquimans Weekly based in Perquimans County, North Carolina; Becky Pallack, product manager at the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson; and Andrew Weiler, an entrepreneur and digital media producer from Wahkiakum County, Washington. Read their bios here.
While the tuition for fellows is funded through the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the one-year online master’s program is open to anyone with an interest in owning their own media outlet. The program is also available for current media outlets that would like to train rising stars in their organizations for future leadership positions. Applications to enroll in the Summer 2020 program can be submitted here.
“Current events and economic conditions have created an environment conducive for learning and growing as a media entrepreneur,” NewStart director Jim Iovino said in the release. “There is still a great need for credible local news outlets in this country, and the coming year will likely see a lot of innovation in the media industry. This new online master’s program examines new business models during this time of forced innovation, and the NewStart fellows are diverse in geography and professional experience, allowing for a rich educational atmosphere.”
