API Announces Members of First 'Train the Trainers' Seminar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Reston, VA - Twenty news-industry professionals from across the United States have been selected for the API's inaugural "Train the Trainers" seminar, an initiative designed to improve newsroom training. The program is made possible by a $235,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and is part of Knight Foundation's $10 million Newsroom Training Initiative, which aims to boost training for journalists and help the news media increase its own investment in mid-career education and professional development

"Train the Trainers" aims to bolster the presentation skills of training professionals from various media organizations to improve their ability to engage, educate and motivate newsroom personnel. In an intense, three-day learning experience, seminar participants will cover such topics as how to apply adult-learning principles, how to use voice and body language to enhance "delivery dynamics," and techniques for creating engrossing presentations.

The program was conceived as an outgrowth of a Knight-funded study that revealed lack of training - not pay and benefits - as the greatest source of frustration for U.S. journalists. "Training trainers is the easiest way to multiply your training dollars," said Eric Newton, director of journalism initiatives at the Knight Foundation. "Given the overwhelming need for training, it's an idea whose time has come."

The inaugural "Train the Trainers" seminar, which will be held May 18-21 at API's permanent training facility in Reston, Virginia, will include the following members:

Clifford C. Behnke, Managing Editor, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison
Stephen A. Buttry, Writing Coach/National Correspondent, Omaha (NE) World-Herald,
John C. Druckenmiller, Editor, Rome (GA) News-Tribune
Dana S. Eagles, Recruitment and Staff Development Editor, Orlando Sentinel
Grace A. Fisher, Metro Editor, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, Mississippi.
Carol Goodhue, Training and Development Coordinator, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Judy K. Green, County Editor, Gwinnett Daily Post, Lawrenceville, Georgia
Larry H. Holeva, Assistant Managing Editor, The Scranton (PA) Times/The Tribune
Shirley L. Ingraham, Assistant Technology Editor, Detroit Free Press
Carla J. Kimbrough-Robinson, Associate Editor/Staff Development, The Denver Post
Dennis D. Larison, Copy Editor/Newsroom Training Coordinator, Winston-Salem (NC) Journal
Rose V. McIver, Enterprise Editor/Writing Coach, Bucks County Courier Times, Levittown, Pennsylvania
Chris Meyer, Deputy Editor, The Orange County Register, Santa Ana, California
Mary E. Minser, Employee Relations Director, E. W. Scripps Co., Cincinnati, Ohio
Robbie R. Morganfield, Instructor/Training Editor, The Freedom Forum Diversity Institute, Nashville, Tennessee
Rayanne M. Schmid, Managing Editor, Kerrville (TX) Daily Times
Cindy Stiff, Career Coach/ASNE-APME Fellows Program, The Freedom Forum, Arlington, Virginia
Angela D. Tuck, Director/News Personnel & Staff Development, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
William J. Watson, Managing Editor, Pocono Record, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Mary Ann Wendt, Professional Development Manager, Hearst Newspapers, Houston

Alan Weiss, renowned management consultant, author and educator, will serve as the program's faculty chair and primary discussion leader. Weiss is president of Summit Consulting Group in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.

"The Knight Foundation `gets it' when it comes to training, and this Knight-funded program will give newsroom education a real boost by sharply elevating the skills of in-house trainers," said William L. Winter, Ph.D., president of API. "Throwing Alan Weiss - one of the world's great management consultants and educators - together with groups of 20 committed newsroom trainers is going to produce intellectual fireworks, great ideas and a better-prepared group of newsroom learning leaders."

About the Knight Foundation

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities. Since 1954, the foundation has given more than $200 million in journalism grants.

About the American Press Institute

The American Press Institute is an independent, not-for-profit 501c(3) educational center with headquarters in Reston, Virginia. Founded in 1946 as the leadership-development and training arm of the news industry, the Institute offers about three dozen weeklong residential seminars annually for professionals in all newspaper departments. These programs have been attended by more than 35,000 women and men from all newspaper departments, from broadcast and new-media operations, and from magazines and schools of journalism. The Institute also offers training online and develops intensive on-site learning programs for individual media companies. API's Media Center is a worldwide leader in helping the news industry devise strategies and tactics for improving online content and revenues.

Media Contact:

Gloria Pan
Communications Manager
American Press Institute
11690 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20191-1498
(703) 620-3611
gpan@americanpressinstitute.org