The 2023 World Press Institute fellows will begin their fellowship in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, spend time in several small Minnesota towns, and then visit seven (7) major cities across the country meeting with community, business and political leaders as well as policy experts and journalists. Themes this year are US Democracy (elections/institutions/political divide), climate change (including energy and food security), cutting edge journalistic technology, and new business models for journalism in the digital age.
Here is an outline of this year’s schedule:
March 3: Fellows arrive in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
March 5: Welcome reception with Minneapolis/ St. Paul host families.
March 6: Orientation to the program with WPI Executive Director David McDonald and WPI staff.
March 7-10: Three days of briefing and discussion of journalism and other issues with University of St. Thomas faculty, a visit to Minnesota Public Radio, to Hubbard Broadcasting/KSTP-TV, and the Sahan Journal. Fellows will also meet with Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
March 12-17: A visit to the town of Grand Marais, on the North Shore of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota. Fellows will engage in a local community forum, a visit to the Gunflint Trail, Cook County History Museum, and Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center. Later in the week, back in the Twin Cities, a meetings with St. Thomas professors, Agriculture Executives, and a reporter shadow day.
March 20-24: The week begins with visits to farm country and various agricultural organizations including the Amana outside of Iowa City. Then meetings, community forums, and tour of the Living Building Challenge environmentally friendly building in Muscatine, IA. Back in the Twin Cities, meetings with Tom Hanson, former U.S. diplomat, and with U.S. District Court Judge, John Tunheim, former head of a federal panel that declassified many of the documents about the John F. Kennedy assassination. The fellows will also conduct a public forum sponsored by Global Minnesota.
March 27-April 1: New York City, where fellows will meet with a variety of news outlets including The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, ProPublica, Associated Press, NYU’s Media Lab, the Council on Foreign Relations, the United Nations and others.
April 1-7: Washington, D.C., where the focus will be on nuclear threats and security and on the changing face of journalism including visits with Washington Post, Politico, Axios, Pew Research, the Heritage Foundation, and more.
April 7-12: Miami, where fellows will visit the Miami Herald, Univision (the Spanish language television network), meet with DHL America’s CEO to discuss international trade, and a political science professor who specializes in political conspiracies.
April 12-15: Austin, Texas, where the fellows will explore Texas politics, polling and the media with visits to The Texas Tribune, meetings with political experts and University of Texas academics, and a visit to cattle country outside of Austin.
April 15-20: Off to the West Coast and San Francisco where fellows will visit new media companies, the Center for Investigative Reporting and Reveal, Subtext, Google News, and policy experts at California Universities.
April 20-22: Road trip down to the Central Coast of California for meetings with the Paso Robles Agriculture and Wine Association discussing water and farming issues, exploring the San Luis Obispo farmers market, meeting with the California Polytechnic Journalism and Agriculture departments, as well as the local NPR affiliate.
April 22-26: Los Angeles where the journalists will visit with a variety of new media companies, policy experts, and local journalists.
April 26-29: Chicago, where visits include the MacArthur Foundation, policy experts at the University of Chicago, a tour of the Chicago History Museum, and a walking tour with the Chicago Architecture Center.
April 29-May 6: 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. A graduation ceremony and final banquet will be held on May 4 and the fellows will depart on May 6.