As part of its increasing emphasis on foreign affairs reporting, the Medill School of Journalism plans on sending several students to India next Winter Quarter for their Teaching Media internship.
The India program is Medill’s second overseas endeavor. Eight students currently are spending their Spring Quarter interning at news organizations in South Africa.
Marina Chudnovsky, Director of Student Records and Services, said administrators were skeptical at first about planning another overseas Teaching Media program.
“Originally, the Academic Standards Committee had mixed feelings about the class because we didn’t have enough information about the South Africa program,” she said.
But students in South Africa have been filing weekly journal entries with Dean Loren Ghiglione, she said, and response has been largely positive.
Medill directors have expressed interest in expanding Teaching Media’s international program to include a Fall Quarter destination.
More than $15,000 has been raised to date for the India program, said Brian Utley, Medill’s Director of Development. Although more funds are still needed, Utley said the cost of the program will depend on a variety of factors, including the size of the program. A larger program like the one in South Africa, which sent eight students abroad, would require $40,000 to $50,000.
Before trekking to India, Medill students will have to apply for the program and take an Indian culture course in order to prepare for their time abroad.
The Fall Quarter class, titled “Assignment India: Discovering the world’s best kept secret,” will be taught by Rohit Saran, senior editor of “India Today.”
Journalism Prof. Jack Doppelt said U.S. news lacks much coverage about India, and the new program will provide students with an enlightening experience.
“One of our missions at Medill is to prepare students to see the newsworthiness of places that are underrepresented in the U.S. press,” he said.
The preparatory course will focus on Indian history, politics and journalism, according to an e-mail sent last week to Medill students.
Students interested in taking the class must interview with Ghiglione. Although the class is a prerequisite for the Teaching Media program, students also may choose to take the class as an elective. Ghiglione plans to select students for the class by June 1.
Even though Sumi Somaskanda will not be applying to intern in India, she said she has definite interest in taking the assignment India course.
“In America we’re very closed in and only know one type of journalism,” said Somaskanda, a Medill freshman. “The type of coverage that you see and the people that you cover (in India) is very different.”
Although the program in South Africa will not conclude until the end of Spring Quarter, participating students said they have enjoyed their experience.
Medill junior Sara Mellilo, a former Daily staff member, wrote in an e-mail that her internship at The Star in Johannesburg, South Africa, “has exceeded (her) expectations by 1,000 percent.”
“(Students) are letting a once-in-a-lifetime chance slip out of their fingers if they pass up the chance to do (Teaching Media) abroad,” she wrote in an e-mail. “The (connections) you make professionally are invaluable and you learn so much about yourself as a person and as a reporter.”
The Daily’s Sarah Halasz contributed to this report.
