Denny McAuliffe, The University of Montana's US Indian writer-in-residence and a member of Oklahoma's Osage tribe, has launched Reznet with a $250,000 grant.
"Over the years some of us have been racking our brains about how to increase the number of Native Americans in journalism," said Mr McAuliffe.
Of the 56,000 journalists working at daily newspapers in the US, only about 300 are Native Americans, according to a recent survey by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Mr McAuliffe believes this number is actually inflated and the real figure is more like 100.
He claims most do not read newspapers, and do not see journalism as a profession relevant or open to them. The internet, by contrast, is accessed by most young people, including a growing number of American Indians.
He aims to bring Reznet to all 31 of the tribal colleges across the USA, and from there to a wider Native American audience.
Reznet has a staff of 20 reporters each year for two years. Some will receive digital cameras, enabling them to transmit their photographs by email. In order to show students that journalism is a viable profession, they will also get paid $50 per story.
The site is hosted in Oakland, California, at the Robert C Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.
Sources:
http://www.umt.edu/journalism/news%5Fpages/archives/mar02/reznet%5Fmar02.html
http://www.msnbc.com/news/835577.asp?cp1=1
Senior Desk Editor - International News Desk
