University of Texas at Austin School of Journalism Hosts Reynolds High School Journalism Institute

AUSTIN, Texas – July 15, 2014 – High school journalism teachers from across the country are gathering at The University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication's School of Journalism from July 13-25 to learn teaching skills at the Reynolds High School Journalism Institute.

For two weeks, 34 high school teachers will receive training in writing, reporting, multimedia, photojournalism and layout design. Teachers also will engage in discussions about media ethics, news literacy and First Amendment rights.

The institutes are funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and administered by the American Society of News Editors through its Youth Journalism Initiative. Moody College is one of four locations hosting the institute. The others are held at Arizona State University, the University of Missouri and Kent State University.

More than 2,100 high school teachers have been through the program since it started in 2000.

Co-director and Associate Professor George Sylvie said the institutes help prepare young journalists for the future of the industry.

"We at UT are honored and proud to be hosting our 13th Institute," Sylvie said. "We see the work of high school journalism teachers as essential to students' present and future civic lives and the teachers themselves as crucial to the continuation of the American journalism tradition."

Key instructors for the UT Reynolds High School Journalism Institute:

Sylvie specializes in technology, change and innovation in the journalism industry. He joined the Moody College faculty in 1992 and served as associate director from 2001 to 2006. His research has been presented at several international conferences and has focused on newspaper editors' styles and decision-making skills. He is the co-author of a leading media management textbook, which is now in its fourth edition. He sits on the editorial boards of Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, The Journal of Media Economics, The International Journal on Media Management and The Journal of Media Business Studies.

Ellen Austin, co-director: Austin is the director of journalism at The Harker School in San Jose, Calif. She has taught journalism for 15 years and previously served as an instructor at Palo Alto High School. While there, she started the nationally recognized Viking sports magazine and website and co-advised the broadcast program. She was named the Dow Jones News Fund 2012 National Journalism Teacher of the Year, the California Journalism Education Coalition Journalism Educator of the Year (High School Division) in 2011 and the Journalism Education Association Rising Star honoree in 2006.

Tracy Anne Sena, master teacher: Sena is the adviser of The Broadview student newspaper at Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in San Francisco. She is the 2007 California Journalism Educator of the Year, a JEA Medal of Merit recipient and a Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Distinguished Adviser. She is a frequent presenter at journalism and technology conferences and a judge for local and national journalism organizations. She is the past president and current board member of the Journalism Education Association of Northern California, an advisory board member for the Center for Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University and past first vice-president of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Advisers Association.

About The University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication

One of the nation's foremost institutions for the study of advertising and public relations, communication sciences and disorders, communication studies, journalism and radio-TV-film, The University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication is preparing students to thrive in an era of media convergence. Serving more than 4,700 undergraduate and graduate students, the Moody College is nationally recognized for its faculty members, research and student media. For more information about the Moody College, visit http://moody.utexas.edu.

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Contacts: Laura Byerley, (512) 471-2182; George Sylvie, (512) 471-1783