Advertisement

Poynter Institute will host African journalists denied by USF St. Petersburg

 
Published Oct. 21, 2014

ST. PETERSBURG — A group of African journalists whose visit to the University of South Florida St. Petersburg was canceled because of Ebola fears has found another host.

The Poynter Institute announced Tuesday that it will welcome the 12 journalists, none of whom come from countries affected by the virus.

"Poynter has a long history and tradition of inclusion, it has a long history of training journalists, both here and abroad, and I think in that spirit, it's something we can and should do at Poynter," said Tim Franklin, president of the Poynter Institute, in a press release.

The journalists are part of the U.S. Department of State's Edward R. Murrow program, which brings 100 international journalists to the U.S. every year. Two more journalists originally scheduled to come to St. Petersburg are from nations where Ebola has been reported, and so are not making the trip.

The Poynter Institute, the journalism school that owns the Tampa Bay Times, had planned to play a smaller role in the program. But on Friday, USF St. Petersburg canceled its plans to host the journalists, citing concerns of faculty, students and staff.

In a letter to USF journalism students, regional vice chancellor for academic affairs Han Reichgelt said that he thought that the odds that the visit could result in a transmission of Ebola are "extremely low." He wrote, though, that running the program despite fears from the public "would have negatively impacted the positive effects that the program has had on our Murrow Visiting Journalists, our students and faculty and our community in the past."

World Partnerships, which handles logistics and makes travel arrangements for the program, asked Poynter to take over. The institute will host the journalists from Oct. 31, Nov. 3 and 4.

"In coming to this decision, we considered not only our history of international work, but most importantly the health and safety of our employees and the community," Franklin said.

Contact Waveney Ann Moore at wmoore@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2283. Follow @wmooretimes.