SDSU RECEIVES $300,000 FROM FORMER UT OWNER PLATINUM EQUITY FOR DIGITAL NEWS LITERACY PROGRAM

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January 12, 2012 (San Diego)—Platinum Equity, which recently sold the San Diego Union-Tribune (now U-T San Diego), has donated $300,000 to San Diego State University’s School of Journalism & Media Studies. The donation will create the Platinum Project in Digital News Literacy and support instruction in digital and social media for undergraduate SDSU students and professionals in the community.

 

According to a news release issued by SDSU,  the new program willhelp address the critical need to enhance digital media literacy among media professionals, audiences and students.

 
“Digital media literacy is essential for college students — and audiences in general — to become intelligent consumers of online information, and, ultimately, informed citizens,” said Diane L. Borden, director of the School of Journalism & Media Studies. “This generous gift from Platinum Equity will allow the school to develop curriculum that will help students think critically about the digital information they consume, as well as how to gauge the credibility of that information,” she added.
 
The funding allows the school to offer graduate fellowships to qualified graduate students, who will support faculty in teaching the digital media literacy course. The school will offer the course to hundreds of SDSU undergraduate students each year.

Digital and Social Media Collaborative
 
In addition, Platinum funds will help support the university’s Digital and Social Media Collaborative, a project of the School of Journalism & Media Studies, the College of Extended Studies and the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts. The university launched the collaborative in fall 2010 to build on its Digital Media Certificate Program and to enhance its reputation as the region’s established leader in digital and social media education and training.
The SDSU School of Journalism and Media Studies is the only program in the region accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
 
"This gift will enable the school to have a significant impact on the community, as well as our students,” said Joyce M. Gattas, dean of the College of Professional Studies and Fine Arts. “The school's vision aligns with the strategic mission of Platinum Equity, which seeks to provide the tools necessary to succeed in our community."

KPBS funding from Platinum Equity
 
San Diego State was one of five local organizations to receive funding from Platinum Equity.
KPBS, a public broadcasting service of SDSU, received $25,000 to help fund a back-up power source for the radio and television stations. The other organizations to receive funding include:
  • AVID Center ($500,000)
  • Junior Achievement ($100,000)
  • Classroom of the Future Foundation ($75,000)
For more information on the SDSU School of Journalism and Media Studies, visit jms.sdsu.edu.
 

 


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