After almost 20 years of serving as a resource for journalists and journalism teachers, NewsLab will undergo a change in structure to ensure that its mission of improving journalism will continue.
On Oct. 2, NewsLab will become part of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi.
Launched in 1998 with a grant from the Park Foundation, NewsLab has been maintained since 2003 as an online training center by its founding executive director, Deborah Potter. Thousands of journalists, educators and students worldwide have benefited from NewsLab’s resources on reporting, producing, ethics, photojournalism and many other topics.
All current NewsLab resources will remain online at a new standalone site, hosted by the university. New material, including research projects and creative work, will be added by the Meek School.
“I’m delighted that NewsLab has found a university home,” Potter said. One of NewsLab’s early goals, she said, was to serve as a bridge between television newsrooms and educators to help working journalists discover and apply the lessons of academic research. “I can’t wait to see what NewsLab at Ole Miss will learn that will help journalists at all levels and in all media do better work.”
The Meek School of Journalism and New Media offers two undergraduate degree programs: Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Bachelor of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications. Faculty in the school often work at the intersection of technology and content creation. Sustaining NewsLab will allow the school to share more widely the work of its faculty and students and to contribute to important conversations about media, communication and technology occurring around the world.
“Under Deborah Potter’s leadership, NewsLab developed a reputation for supporting quality journalism across digital platforms,” said Dr. Will Norton, dean of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media. “As part of our school, the site will build on that foundation and expand its mission to include a broader range of communication fields in keeping with the focus of our school.”
Potter may collaborate with the Meek School’s NewsLab on future journalism projects. For more information on the launch or to inquire about contributing to the new site, contact Mike Tonos at jmtonos@olemiss.edu.
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