Collegian's Jena Sauber named to 2014 National Newspaper Association Foundation News Fellow program
Monday, March 3, 2014
MANHATTAN — A Kansas State University senior is among a group of eight collegiate journalists selected to participate in the 2014 class of the National Newspaper Association Foundation News Fellows program in Washington, D.C.
Jena Sauber, senior in journalism and mass communications with a print focus, Salina, was one of the students chosen for the program, according to Elizabeth K. Parker, foundation president and co-publisher of the New Jersey Hills Media Group, Bernardsville, N.J. Sauber currently serves as the managing editor of the Collegian, the daily newspaper at Kansas State University, and she completed a summer 2013 internship at the Salina Journal. The Kansas Press Association is sponsoring Sauber's participation in the program.
The fellows will convene in Washington on March 12 for a briefing from the National Security Agency, or NSA, and will work throughout the week to gather news from other sources for their stories, which will tackle one of many angles on NSA surveillance.
The News Fellows program was established by National Newspaper Association Foundation in 2013 to advance the cause of news literacy. Senior journalism students are invited to Washington, D.C., for a 2 1/2-day program of intensive briefings and enterprise reporting on a topic of keen national interest.
The program this year is supported by funding from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation in Oklahoma City, Okla.
The fellows this year will be briefed by the National Security Agency; the National Security Archive, a journalism program dedicated to reporting on national security; and the pollsters at Gallup International. They will also attend a luncheon at the Newseum in downtown Washington.
Parker said the News Fellows program is designed to give students a crash course in separating the news from opinions on critical national issues. Each student works with a mentor to guide research. They are encouraged to visit their Congressional delegations on Capitol Hill and to carry out independent research before their arrivals, during their visits and after returning home.
"This program grew out of a concern among community newspaper publishers that with the new age of social media and 24-hour blogging, both our readers and our future reporters would be more challenged to discern the differences between facts and viewpoints," Parker said.
"As gatherers and editors of news, we believe it is essential to our mission as guardians of the First Amendment to maintain the important roles of reporters, whatever the medium of publication," she said. "Last year's pilot program demonstrated to us if the next generation of journalists is as critical-minded and inquisitive as our news fellows, good journalism will thrive."
In addition to Parker, mentors will be Toby McIntosh, Bloomberg BNA; Mark Magyar, NJ Spotlight.com; Steven Haynes, Nor'West Newspapers; Walter Kaechele, Allegan County News; and Teri Saylor, Open Water Communications.
Other students selected for the program are from Oklahoma State University, Roosevelt University, University of Mississippi, University of Nebraska, University of North Dakota, University of Wisconsin and Valdosta State University.
