The 2016 World Press Institute fellows will begin their fellowship in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, spend time in two small Minnesota towns, and then visit nine (9) major cities across the country meeting with community, business and political leaders as well as policy experts. Themes this year are U.S. presidential politics, nuclear policy and security, police-community relations and the changing face of journalism. Here is an outline of this year’s schedule:
Aug. 12: Fellows arrive in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Aug. 14: Welcome picnic and gathering with Minneapolis/ St. Paul host families.
Aug. 15: Orientation to the program with WPI executive director David McDonald and WPI staff.
Aug. 16-20: Three days of briefing and discussion of journalism issues with University of St. Thomas faculty, Chris Ison, former Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and Paul McEnroe, Executive Producer for Investigations and Special Projects at KSTP-TV. Also a meeting/briefing with an African American law professor active in the Black Lives Matter movement and the NAACP.
Aug. 21-27: The week begins with a visit to the town of Ely in northern Minnesota, a community forum sponsored by the Ely Echo newspaper, a visit to the International Wolf Center and some canoeing in the Boundary Waters. Later in the week, back in the Twin Cities, a briefing and overview of the nuclear policy and security issue from the director of the MacArthur Foundation’s Nuclear Challenges program and a meeting/briefing with the former chair of the President Kennedy Assassination Commission. The week concludes with a meeting/briefing with St. Paul’s police chief.
Aug. 28-Sept. 3: The week begins with a visit to farm country and the town of Tracy in southwestern Minnesota, a visit to Pipestone National Monument, rich in Native American history, and a community forum with Tracy residents sponsored by the Tracy Herald newspaper. Back in the Twin Cities, more visits with journalists, business and community leaders, and policy experts, including the chairs of the state Democratic and Republican Parties.
Sept. 4-9: Washington, D.C., where the focus will be on U.S. presidential politics, nuclear policy/security and on the changing face of journalism with visits to the Washington Post, Politico, PEW Research, with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, the Arms Control Association, the Stimson Center and meetings with White House officials. And a visit to the Newseum for a unique view of the history of journalism.
Sept. 10-16: New York City, where we will visit The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, ProPublica and CBS News. We will also meet with experts on police-community relations and nuclear policy and security, and visit the U.N.
Sept. 17-20: Miami, where we will visit the Miami Herald, a Hispanic political polling firm, and Univision, the Spanish language television network. We will also board a Carnival Cruise Lines ship and talk with Carnival’s CEO.
Sept. 21-23: Atlanta, where we visit CNN headquarters, the Carter Center, founded by former President Jimmy Carter, and the (Martin Luther) King Center.
Sept. 24-28: San Francisco, where we will visit Google, the Center for Investigative Reporting and meet with legal experts on police-community relations at the University of California-Berkeley.
Sept. 29-30: Los Angeles, where we will visit the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, the Rand Corporation, a major think tank, the Hollywood Reporter and possibly a Hollywood Studio.
Oct. 1-Oct. 4: Austin, where we will explore Texas politics, polling and the media with visits to The Texas Tribune, political media experts and operatives, and University of Texas academics.
Oct. 5-8: Chicago, where we will visit the MacArthur Foundation, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and a unique program at the University of Illinois-Chicago that deals with gang violence.
Oct. 9: St. Louis, where we will attend and cover the second U.S. Presidential Debate between candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Oct. 10-15: Back to the Twin Cities for a final week of activities with faculty and students at the University of St. Thomas, host families, and WPI sponsoring companies including the 3M Company, Cargill, Inc., and Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. A graduation and the final banquet will be held on Oct. 14 and the fellows will depart on Oct. 15.