The 2018 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 eight (8) major cities across the country meeting with community, business and political leaders as well as policy experts and journalists. Themes this year are journalism in the Trump era, the mid-term elections, nuclear threats and security, and immigration.
Here is an outline of this year’s schedule:
Aug. 10: Fellows arrive in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Aug. 12: Welcome picnic and gathering with Minneapolis/ St. Paul host families.
Aug. 13: Orientation to the program with WPI Executive Director David McDonald and WPI staff.
Aug. 14-18: Three days of briefing and discussion of journalism issues with University of St. Thomas faculty, John Ullmann, former Assistant Managing Editor for Investigations at the Star Tribune and former WPI Executive Director, a panel of Minnesota journalists and political experts. Also, a visit to the Humphrey School of Public Affairs to meet with policy experts on politics and immigration and a discussion about the JFK assassination with Chief Federal Judge John Tunheim.
Aug. 19-25: A visit to the town of Ely, in the wilderness of 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 meeting with two immigration rights attorneys, a visit to MinnPost, an online news service, a visit to the Minnesota State Fair, and a day where WPI journalists shadow reporters and producers from Twin Cities media.
Aug. 26-Sept. 1: The week begins with a visit to farm country and the town of Tracy in southwestern Minnesota, a visit to farms, a shrimp company, area historical museums, and a community forum with Tracy residents sponsored by the Tracy Herald newspaper. Back in the Twin Cities, more visits with journalists at the Star Tribune newspaper, Minnesota Public Radio and Hubbard Broadcasting and a briefing on nuclear threats and security by an expert from the MacArthur Foundation.
Sept. 2-7: Washington, D.C., where the focus will be on nuclear threats and security and on the changing face of journalism with visits to the Washington Post, Politico, Axios, PEW Research, the Arms Control Association, the Stimson Center, the Hudson Institute, Heritage Foundation, Brookings Institution and more. And a visit to the Newseum for a unique view of the history of journalism.
Sept. 8-14: New York City, where we will visit The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, ProPublica, CNN, Fox News, the Carnegie Corporation, the United Nations and the 911 Memorial & Museum.
Sept. 15-18: Miami, where we will visit the Miami Herald, a Hispanic political polling firm, Univision (the Spanish language television network), and a political science professor who specializes in political conspiracies. We will also visit Carnival Cruise Lines, a WPI sponsor.
Sept. 19-22: Austin, where we will explore Texas politics, polling and the media with visits to The Texas Tribune, political experts and University of Texas academics. We will also meet with activists who work with immigrants.
Sept. 23-27: Chicago, where we will visit the MacArthur Foundation, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, policy experts at the University of Chicago, a group that works with immigrants, the Chicago Tribune and a former Tribune editor who is working with a new project on news accuracy called NewsGuard.
Sept. 28-Oct. 2: Off to the West Coast and San Francisco where we will visit Google, the Center for Investigative Reporting, N Square (a nuclear policy organization), and more.
Oct. 3-5: Denver, where we will explore immigration with the Denver City Attorney, hopefully meet with the Governor of Colorado, and visit with journalists who left the Denver Post newspaper to form a new online publication The Colorado Sun.
Oct. 6-13: 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 like 3M. A graduation ceremony and final banquet will be held on Oct. 11 and the fellows will depart on Oct. 13.