About

Founded at San Francisco State University in 1990 by Betty Medsger, the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism believes that accurate and responsible journalism reflects the changing demographics of the society it serves. We develop programs and conduct research aimed at recruiting, retaining and revitalizing journalists and journalism educators. We seek to make journalism more inclusive from the classroom to the newsroom.

DOWNLOAD CIIJ Executive Summary Strategic Plan 2009 - 2011

Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism
San Francisco State University
Humanities 307
1600 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132

Phone: 415.338-2083
Fax: 415.338.2084
Email: ciij@sfsu.edu

STAFF

DIRECTOR, CRISTINA L. AZOCAR, PH.D.
Dr. Cristina L. Azocar is a member of the Upper Mattaponi Tribe. She is the director of the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism (CIIJ) and an assistant professor of journalism at San Francisco State University where she teaches classes on diversity in journalism. Azocar earned her doctorate in Communication Studies at the University of Michigan in 2001. Her research and teaching focus on portrayals of people of color in the news. She received her master's degree in Ethnic Studies and her bachelor's degree in Journalism from San Francisco State University. Dr. Azocar's interest in diversity in the news media spans almost 20 years, and began with her concern about negative representations of Native Americans. She has done more than 100 presentations, workshops, talks and panels on the subject of journalism education and has published in academic and professional journals. Dr. Azocar is a past president of the Native American Journalists Association and currently serves on its board. She has served on the board of the California Society of Newspaper Editors on the ex-officio journalism education seat since 2004. She joined the board of the Women's Media Center (founded by Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan) in 2006, the Sequoyah Research Center . She also has served on the Task force for Diversity for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and was a former chair of the Multicultural Research Division of the Broadcast Education Association. In 2009 she served on the inaugural advisory board of the U.S. Immigrant Integration Awards Program of the Migration Policy Institute . In 2005 she received the Distinguished Service to Journalism Education from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges and was honored as a Local Hero by KQED for Native American Heritage Month. That same year she was a National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy judge for the Community Service award. Currently, Dr. Azocar is interested in implementing programs and conducting research centered on journalism education in order to achieve greater diversity in the nation's newsrooms. Azocar coined the term the 4 R's of the journalism pipeline to define the focus journalism education: Recruitment, Retention, Revitalization and Research.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT, ERIC LAWSON
Eric Lawson is a senior at San Francisco State University with a focus on photojournalism. He served as three semesters as a photojournalist on staff for the Golden Gate [X]press, including one semester as photo editor. He also has completed internships at the Mountain View Voice and the Menlo Park Almanac. He currently works as a freelance photojournalist for publications such as SPINearth, SF Weekly, and Jambase. Lawson worked with CIIJ as a mentor for high school journalism students at Oakland Tech High School in Oakland, CA in the 2008-2009 academic year. This will be Lawson's third year working with BAMMA.