About Columbia Journalism School
For more than a century, the Columbia Journalism School has been preparing journalists in programs that stress academic rigor, ethics, journalistic inquiry and professional practice. Founded with a gift from Joseph Pulitzer, the school opened in 1912 and offers Master of Science, Master of Arts, Master of Science in Data Journalism, a joint Master of Science degree in Computer Science and Journalism, The Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism and a Doctor of Philosophy in Communications. It houses the Columbia Journalism Review, the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, The Tow Center for Digital Journalism, The Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights, The Simon and June Li Center for Global Journalism, the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security, and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. The school also administers many of the leading journalism awards, including the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, the Maria Moors Cabot Prizes, the John Chancellor Award, the John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, Dart Awards for Excellence in Coverage of Trauma, Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award, the Mike Berger Awards and the WERT Prize for Women Business Journalists. Journalism.columbia.edu.
Columbia Journalism School Seeks Candidates for New Professorship in Local News
Chair Honors Alumnus Philip S. Balboni
The Columbia Journalism School is seeking candidates for a new endowed professorship whose primary field of study, teaching and research is local journalism.
The Philip S. Balboni Professor of Local Journalism will offer a vision for rebuilding the public square in communities large and small, while nurturing the development of journalists who dig deeply into local issues, who connect with residents and who use innovation to build news organizations that can thrive. The preference is for a candidate who will join the tenure track. We are especially interested in those who, through their research, teaching, and service, will contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community.
Candidates may learn more about the post and apply here.
The professorship is named for Philip Balboni, Class of 1971, who spent much of his career in local television. He served in a variety of key management positions at WCVB-TV in Boston, including Vice President and News Director, and he was the Founder and President of NECN/New England Cable News, which built a national reputation for excellence in local and regional news, winning all of the country’s major television news awards including the Peabody, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University, and Edward R. Murrow awards.
Balboni also founded GlobalPost, an award-winning website covering international news, and he is now the Founder, CEO and Co-Executive Editor of DailyChatter, an internationally-focused email newsletter launched in 2016. The professorship was funded by Boston philanthropists Amos and Barbara Hostetter, in recognition of Balboni’s many professional accomplishments. Amos Hostetter founded and was CEO of Continental Cablevision, which grew to become one of the largest cable companies in America. Continental and the Hearst Corporation formed a joint venture to back Balboni’s vision for NECN. Hostetter was also a founding director of C-SPAN.
“Local news organizations are an essential resource for communities,” said Steve Coll, Dean and Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism. “They are undergoing a period of profound change, and their future will be shaped by how they adapt.”
In recent years, the school has launched initiatives supporting local news, including research, professional training and the development of tools, as well as reporting projects with local newsrooms.