Friday, September 07, 2018

Indiana U. gets $6 million for investigative journalism center

A wealthy alumnus of Indiana University has given its Media School $6 million to start a center that will focus on the production and teaching of investigative journalism in Indiana and beyond.

"We've all recently been reminded of the need for strong and independent investigative journalism," Media School Dean James Shanahan said in a news release. "Michael Arnolt shares this recognition with us and is helping us take a strong step toward producing great journalism and training great journalists."

Michael Arnolt
Arnolt earned journalism degree from IU in 1967, reported for The Elkhart Truth for five and a half years, then went into private business. He co-founded the Graston Technique, "a physical therapy method adopted by clinicians, outpatient clinics, university advanced-degree teaching programs and more than 450 amateur and professional sports organizations across the U.S., Canada and Europe," the release says. "Despite the career change, he maintained his passion for and belief in the responsibility of journalists to uphold the watchdog function of the news media."

The university says the center will open in fall 2019, and its work "will be available at no cost to local, regional and national news outlets and will seek to supplement their reporting at a time when many are losing newsroom staff." Arnolt's gift will provide fellowships for up to four graduate students and scholarships for as many as 10 undergraduates to work on investigative projects. A director will provide editorial guidance. A search for the director launches today.

"We are all immensely grateful to Michael Arnolt for this gift," said IU Bloomington Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel. "Investigative journalism is critical to a healthy democracy and healthy civil society. We need to ensure that we continue to give future journalists the education and the tools to work in our communities so we can be better-informed, better-equipped citizens. This gift makes that possible at The Media School."

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