Journalism School Receives $10M from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to Launch a New Center for Journalism Ethics and Security
February 6, 2019 — Columbia Journalism School announced today its plan to establish the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security, to advance journalism ethics education and industry practice in the digital age. The Center is made possible by a $10 million endowment gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies, the personal organization of craigslist founder Craig Newmark, a member of the Columbia Journalism Review Board of Overseers. The gift will also create a new Craig Newmark Professorship to direct the Center.
“Craig Newmark’s generosity will provide an enduring and deeply influential investment in journalism,” said Steve Coll, dean of Columbia Journalism School and Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism. “At a time of disinformation campaigns and attacks on journalists online and off, the Center and faculty chair will send a powerful message and will bolster a free and ethical press that enhances our democratic society.”
Building on the School's tradition, the endowed Center will help strengthen the ethics curriculum required for all Master of Science students. It will allow the Journalism School to further equip emerging journalists with tools to address ethical and security dilemmas that are faced in modern newsrooms. The new resources will enable advanced instruction in digital and physical security, algorithmic bias, image manipulation and source protection in an era of high surveillance. Through convenings and published research, the Center will also educate working journalists in digitally safe practices, and help them to better navigate today’s media environment.
“With disinformation flowing through social platforms and the news, it’s critical to modernize journalism ethics so that the industry keeps pace with the ever-changing digital landscape,” said Craig Newmark. “Both Columbia Journalism School and Poynter are already helping journalists do just that, and with these gifts, I hope they'll become the industry’s go-to resources for the challenges journalists face in a data- driven world.”
Columbia Journalism School will soon begin a search for the inaugural Craig Newmark Professor, who will lead the Center’s work and form collaborations with journalism schools, newsrooms and other institutions. Partners will include the Poynter Institute, which received a $5 million gift from Craig Newmark Philanthropies to support related work.
Craig Newmark Philanthropies’ expanded investment in journalistic ethics and integrity follows a year of generous gifts to promote a trustworthy press. Learn more.
About Columbia Journalism School
For more than a century, the Columbia Journalism School has been preparing journalists in programs that stress academic rigor, ethics, journalistic inquiry and professional practice. Founded with a gift from Joseph Pulitzer, the school opened in 1912 and offers Master of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Science in Data Journalism, a joint Master of Science degree in Computer Science and Journalism, The Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism and a Doctor of Philosophy in Communications. It also houses the Columbia Journalism Review, the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, the Tow Center for Digital Journalism, the Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. The school administers many of the leading journalism awards, including the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Awards, the Maria Moors Cabot Prizes, the John Chancellor Award, the John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma, Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award, and the Meyer “Mike” Berger Awards. Journalism.columbia.edu
About Craig Newmark Philanthropies
Craig Newmark Philanthropies was created by craigslist founder Craig Newmark to support and connect people and drive broad civic engagement. The organization works to advance people and grassroots organizations that are getting stuff done in areas that include trustworthy journalism, voter protection, gender diversity in technology, and veterans and military families. For more information, please visit: CraigNewmarkPhilanthropies.org.
