CUNY, Columbia receive grants

The Tow Foundation announced significant grants to two journalism schools in New York City to enhance teaching and research for interactive journalism and new media.
The City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism will receive a $3-million challenge grant to establish the Tow Center for Journalistic Innovation, which will study new business models for journalism and create an incubator to help develop new journalistic products and services using Internet technologies. CUNY will be required to raise $3-million in matching funds.
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism will receive a $5-million challenge grant for curriculum development and new faculty for teaching interactive journalism. Columbia will be required to raise another $10-million on a two-for-one matching basis.
"I have become increasingly worried that the quality of mainstream journalism will decline before the transition is made to the new media formats," says Leonard Tow. "We want to help speed the process of evolution and help prepare the next generation of journalists for a new media environment. These two schools offer different approaches and I am confident that the work of the two centers will be complementary."
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