Tools for training

WORLD’s journalism training arm, World Journalism Institute, is much on our minds these days. As I write this, we’re hosting our annual WJI mid-career course here in Asheville. More about that in a moment.

Most longtime WORLD readers know of WJI’s course for college students and recent grads who are looking for intensive training in journalism grounded in facts and Biblical truth. That course is our longest-running program, now in its 25th year.

This May, Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, will once again be our host for the course. As a reminder, the deadline for application to the ­collegiate course is March 31, less than a week from the March 25 cover date on this issue.

As the name suggests, our mid-career course is for professionals who have been working elsewhere and would like to bring their experience and expertise to bear on the practice of journalism. They come from the military, the world of business and finance, the practice of law or medicine, even other media companies. Some are home educators, some chaplains or missionaries. The diversity of experience is extraordinary, and many say their time at the workshop is life-changing. We pray that continues.

The resounding success of last year’s WJI Europe course prompted a reprise, which is planned for August in Brussels. We hope this program will continue to grow because, like the United States, Europe desperately needs more Christian journalists. We hope to expand the program to other international regions in future years, as well. The need is global.

We also plan to repeat last year’s retreat for college journalism professors. Supporting college journalism programs and professors, school newspapers, and other school-based media initiatives is a key element of WJI’s mission.

Finally, WJI is pursuing one completely new initiative and another we haven’t tried in a while. The new initiative: a July course for bilingual (Spanish-English) reporters who want to develop a Biblically objective approach to journalism. And the one we haven’t tried in a while: a high school journalism camp, which will also take place at Dordt University.

Information on all of these programs, along with applications for enrollment, are available at WJI’s website, wji.world.

On that site, you’ll also find a place to donate to support WJI. I’ll close with this reminder and gentle nudge: All of WJI’s programs are 100 percent donor-funded, and there’s never been a more strategic time to support the training of Christian journalists from all walks of life, all around the world.