The fellowship program of the World Press Institute encompasses briefings, interviews, and meetings with community, business and political leaders as well as policy experts. Themes this year are U.S.-Cuban relations, police-community relations, presidential politics and the changing face of journalism. Here is an outline of this year’s schedule:
Aug. 14: Fellows arrive in Minnesota.
Aug. 16: Welcome picnic and gathering with Minneapolis and St. Paul host families.
Aug. 17: Orientation to the program with WPI executive director David McDonald and WPI staff.
Aug. 18-22: Two days of briefing and discussion of journalism issues with University of St. Thomas faculty and a day with John Ullmann, former assistant managing editor for investigations at the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Paul McEnroe, Star Tribune investigative reporter. Also meeting an African American law professor active in the Black Lives Matter movement and the NAACP. The week ends with a host family reception.
Aug. 23-29: A visit to Ely, in the wilderness of northern Minnesota, a community forum and a visit the Wolf Center. Later in the week we will visit Cargill, Inc., the Star Tribune newspaper, Minnesota Public Radio and a briefing by two journalists who covered the historic Minnesota Orchestra visit to Cuba last spring and a discussion about the Kennedy assassination with U.S. District Judge John Tunheim.
Aug. 30-Sept. 5: A visit to farms and a national monument rich in Native American history near Tracy, in southwestern Minnesota. More visits to 3M Company and other business, community and policy leaders back in the Twin Cities and a visit with members of the Minnesota Orchestra who traveled to Cuba.
Sept. 6-12: Washington, D.C., where the focus will be on U.S.-Cuban relations and on the changing face of journalism with visits to the Washington Post, Politico, the Brookings Institution, PEW Research and meetings with U.S. government officials. And a visit to the Newseum for a unique view of journalism.
Sept. 12-18: New York City, where we will continue our tradition of visiting The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, ProPublica and the 911 Museum, some famous television personalities, as well as more experts on U.S.-Cuban relations and police-community relations.
Sept. 18-23: Miami, where we will visit Carnival Cruise Lines, the Miami Herald, and a Hispanic polling firm that did a major survey in Cuba.
Sept. 23-26: Atlanta, where we will visit CNN headquarters, the Carter Center, founded by former President Jimmy Carter, and the (Martin Luther) King Center.
Sept. 26-30: Chicago, where we will visit the MacArthur Foundation, Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and a unique program at the University of Illinois-Chicago that deals with gang violence.
Sept. 30-Oct. 3: Austin, Texas, where we will explore Texas politics, polling and the press along with Austin music. The Austin City Limits Music Festival kicks off while we are in town.
Oct. 3-7: San Francisco, gateway to Silicon Valley, where we will visit some high tech firms including Google and Twitter, as well as the Center for Investigative Reporting and more.
Oct. 7-10: Los Angeles, where we will visit the national business public radio show “Marketplace,” the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, the Rand Corporation, a major think tank, and a Hollywood Studio.
Oct. 10-17: Back in the Twin Cities, for a final week of activities with faculty and students at St. Thomas, host families, Medtronic, Inc., and Hubbard Broadcasting. Graduation and the final banquet is Oct. 16.