Kiplinger Program of Public Affairs Journalism joins John Glenn Institute

COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University’s Kiplinger Program of Public Affairs Journalism for Mid-Career Journalists has a new campus home and an improved format. The widely regarded program, which allows mid-career journalists to sharpen their policy skills, is now affiliated with the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy.

Knight Kiplinger, trustee of the Washington-based Kiplinger Foundation, praised the restructured program and its new home at the John Glenn Institute. “The Institute is an ideal home for the Kiplinger Program, given the Program’s emphasis on training journalists to play a constructive role in public policy debate--illuminating issues and educating people to be active, well-informed citizens,” said Kiplinger, who is editor in chief of The Kiplinger Letter and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

The Institute, a nonpartisan department of the University, runs a broad range of programs training policymakers, expanding policy research, and stimulating interest in public service and public policy.

Senator John Glenn, who chairs the Institute’s Board of Directors, welcomed the Kiplinger Program to the Institute. “Journalists play a key role in every public policy debate,” observed the former Senator. “The Kiplinger Program will bring journalists, policymakers, faculty experts, and students together to explore new policy issues and examine journalism’s role in shaping discussion of those issues. The Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism will become a centerpiece of the Glenn Institute’s work.”

The Institute will appoint an experienced journalist to direct the program and will then seek applicants for the next class of Kiplinger Fellows, due to arrive on the Columbus, Ohio, campus in January 2005.

Fellows will spend six months in the program, holding in-depth discussions with media leaders, completing a major journalism project, and interacting with students, faculty experts, and policymakers at both the University’s Columbus campus and its Washington office. Kiplinger Fellows may also pursue courses in more than 200 fields of study at Ohio State.

The Fellows will be among the first residents of Page Hall, a historic building on Ohio State’s Oval that the University is renovating for the Glenn Institute and the School of Public Policy and Management. Lodged with policy faculty, interdisciplinary scholars, Senator John Glenn, and visiting policymakers, the Kiplinger Fellows will have an unparalleled opportunity to explore current policy issues from multiple perspectives.

“Page Hall will be a focal point for policy research and teaching at Ohio State,” noted Barbara Snyder, the University’s Interim Executive Vice President and Provost. “The building will house a vibrant, interactive community of students, scholars, and policymakers from many disciplines. The Kiplinger Fellows will be an integral part of that mix.”

The Kiplinger Program was conceived in 1972 by Austin H. Kiplinger as a tribute to his father, W. M. Kiplinger ’12, one of the first two journalism majors at Ohio State and editor of The Lantern his senior year. Austin Kiplinger, president of the Kiplinger Foundation, is also editor emeritus of the Kiplinger publications.

W. M. Kiplinger was one of journalism’s most innovative figures, credited with creating an entirely new journalistic medium--the modern newsletter--and a new field of editorial content--personal finance guidance.

The weekly Kiplinger Letter, founded in 1923, is today the most widely read business forecasting periodical in the world, and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, started in 1947, has a monthly circulation of one million.

The Kiplinger Foundation, also founded by W. M. Kiplinger, is a grant-making charitable foundation that focuses on education, the arts, and mid-career professional development for journalists. The Foundation and The Ohio State University have supported the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism since its founding in 1972.

Today, the Program has an alumni body of more than 220 former fellows, who include distinguished, prize-winning journalists in news organizations throughout the nation. The Glenn Institute consulted with former Kiplinger Fellows to design the improved program.

More information about the restructured Kiplinger Program of Public Affairs Journalism for Mid-Career Journalists is available through the John Glenn Institute, 614-292-4545.