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.
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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 fifteen 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 serves as president of the Native American Journalists Association, the California Society of Newspaper Editors on the ex-officio journalism education seat, theWomen's Media Center (founded by Jane Fonda, Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem), the Grade the News citizen advisory board, the Sequoyah Research Center . She also serves on the Task force for Diversity for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and on the executive board of the Multicultural Research Division of the Broadcast Education Association. 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. In 2005 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.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, RONNIE LOVLER
Ronnie Lovler became assistant director of the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism at San Francisco State University in February 2008. Most recently, she was a journalism instructor at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, while completing a graduate degree in communications at the University of Florida. Her research focus was on Al Jazeera English. Ronnie’s journalism career spans several decades. She served as bureau chief and correspondent for CNN in Latin America for almost 10 years. During her time at CNN, Ronnie reported from every country in Latin America. Ronnie has also worked for CBS News, The Weather Channel and The Associated Press, as well as The San Juan Star in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Ronnie has also served on the executive board of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Mid-Florida Pro Chapter and as a member of the International Committee of the SPJ. She was part of a team of observers headed by President Jimmy Carter monitoring electoral processes in Nicaragua (2001) and Venezuela (2004). During the 2005 U.S. hurricane season, Ronnie worked with the American Red Cross as a volunteer crisis communicator and public information officer. Ronnie received her undergraduate degree from Ohio State University. She is proud to be part of the “boomer generation” which has demonstrated that while we all get older you don’t have to get old! She is the proud mother of two sons, Tiffen and Michael, who are engaged in their own studies.
ADVISORY BOARD CHAIR, AUSTIN LONG-SCOTT
Professor Long-Scott has been teaching at San Francisco State University since 1990. For two years he was acting department chair. As a journalist he worked on-air at KRON-TV in San Francisco, was a metro editor and editorial writer at the Oakland Tribune, a Los Angeles Times reporter, a Washington Post White House Correspondent, a Pulitzer Prize juror, a Nieman Fellow at Harvard, a Knight Fellow at Stanford and an Associated Press reporter. He taught in the Summer Program for Minority Journalists at Columbia and UC Berkeley. He has four children, six grandchildren and lives in Oakland in an extended family that includes a sister-in-law who is legally blind and a niece determined to live as independently as she can with severe cerebral palsy.
HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM COORDINATOR, ZONEIL MAHARAJ
Maharaj is the high school program coordinator for CIIJ. He is also the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Oh Dang!, an independent arts and culture webzine, as well as the music editor for Hyphen, a nonprofit Asian American print and online magazine. A graduate of San Francisco State University's journalism department, Maharaj has written for various publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, SF Weekly, XLR8R, Wiretap, Performer,
and the Oakland Tribune.
MULTIMEDIA EDITOR, RYAN BALADAD
Ryan Baladad believes it takes versatility for journalists to succeed in this competitive field, and has done everything from copy editing to writing to calling shots as editor-in-chief during his time at The Spectator of Chabot College. He was a production intern for AsianWeek, where he produced illustrations and written articles. This Bay Area native is now art director for the Golden Gate [X]press and is a student member of the Asian American Journalists Association. He will be graduating in May 2009 with a journalism degree and a minor in health education, and plans to attend graduate school thereafter.
COACHING PROGRAM COORDINATOR, CHRISTINE JOY FERRER
Aa native San Franciscan, journalist/choreographer/dancer. She is currently working part-time as a Projects Assistant/Coaching Program Coordinator at the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism (CIIJ) and is a [X]press Magazine contributing editor. She will be graduating in May 2008 with a B.A. in journalism and in dance from San Francisco State University. She has written for Pacific News (New America Media), InDance, Cityvoices.org, Filipinas Magazine, Golden Gate [X]press and [X]press Magazine. Some of her articles have been re-published on AlterNet.
RESEARCHER, RACHELLE GINES
Rachelle Gines is a senior in the journalism department at San Francisco State University. She came to SFSU in 2005, and with help from the Center for the Integration and Improvement of Journalism, has landed internships at the Vallejo Times-Herald, Gilroy Dispatch and San Mateo County Times. A native of Salinas, California, Gines attended the University of California, Irvine before coming to San Francisco. She aspires to be a magazine writer and is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association. In her free time, Gines enjoys travel, ballet and cooking.
RESEARCHER, MABEL JIMENEZ
This is Jimenez’s first semester at San Francisco State, where she is a junior majoring in Photojournalism. She’s a recent transfer from Humboldt State University. While in Humboldt, she worked as Programming Coordinator for Access Humboldt, the local access TV station, and as Master Control for Eureka Television Group. Her articles and essays have appeared in El Heraldo, The Redwood Universe, The Eureka Reporter and The Lumberjack, and her photography work has been exhibited in various galleries and festivals. She hopes to become a photographer for online and print publications, and a documentary filmmaker upon graduation.
PROGRAMS
BAY AREA MULTICULTURAL MEDIA ACADEMY
A two-week residential program built around developing journalism skills and careers for Bay Area high school students at San Francisco State University. Our graduates work in print, radio, television and online journalism. BAMMA is dedicated to providing opportunities to youth from underserved communities Asian American, African American, Latino, Native American and low-income youth to develop skills as a journalist that will open doors for them in media careers and help the profession do a better job covering news for everyone.
BOLDFACED JOURNALISM
High school teachers and students attend a one-day conference led by news professionals to learn about college and professional journalism, and to meet other young journalists.
ETHNIC PRESS SERVICE
A New Voices project of J-Lab at the University of Maryland, CIIJ�'s Ethnic News Service will help the country's ethnic media outlets improve their coverage of public affairs and to report issues that affect ethnic communities. San Francisco State University journalism students and students from the Bay Area Multicultural Media Academy (BAMMA) produce articles, photographs, audio and video stories and multimedia packages. Ethnic news outlets can subscribe at no cost to the service for the first year (2006) and download stories from CIIJ's website (to be launched soon).
More information about New Voices...
HIGH SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE OUTREACH
CIIJ's work includes visits to local community colleges, workshops to prepare transfer students and active participation in the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC). CIIJ has hosted the JACC Northern California conference for the last five years.
JOB AND INTERNSHIP SERVICES
Journalism-related jobs and internships are regularly posted on the CIIJ web site and on the bulletin board outside our office. S.F. State journlaism students and alumni are eligible to receive messages of postings via e-mail if they sign up for the CIIJ's RSS feed. Students can view a binder containing sample resumes and cover letter critiqued by professionals. Each fall, CIIJ hosts a regional job and internship fair.
NEWS WATCH
The project is a collaboration with the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), the Asian American Journalists (AAJA) and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA). News Watch aims to promote candid dialouge among journalists regarding people of color, lesbians and gays, and other communities which have been victim to biased reporting.
PRIME MOVERS
Prime Movers involves the four Rs of the journalism pipeline: Recruitment, Retention, Revitalization and Research. This pilot-program enables veteran journalists, or Prime Movers, to share their knowledge and experiences with junior colleagues, or Rising Stars, SFSU journalism students and Bay Area high school journalists. Its objectives are fourfold: First, to plug the hole in the journalism pipeline that students of color slip out of on their way to becoming professional journalists. Second, to plug part of the journalism pipeline that involves the retention of young journalists of color. Third, to acknowledge and utilize the expertise and experiences of veteran journalists and to revitalize their passion for the journalism profession through work with their younger counterparts. Finally, to study and disseminate information on the dimensions of ethnic minorities' involvement in reporting and receiving the news.
WRITING AND PHOTO COACH PROGRAM
Students at SFSU work with professional journalists one-on-one weekly to improve their writing and reporting or photography skills and glean career advice. CIIJ makes the matches.
YOUTH JOURNALISM ADVISING and UC "G" ELECTIVE
Youth Journalism Advising (YJA) and UC “G” Elective (UCG) are summer trainings hosted by CIIJ. The ultimate goal of the workshops is to promote and improve journalism programs in high schools. YJA is geared to help advisers, many of whom have little to no journalism background, succeed at both their classroom and publication responsibilities. The UC “G’ Elective workshop aims to increase the number of journalism courses that receive UC credit and in turn, increase the number of students who take the courses and schools that offer them.
We are located in Humanities 307.
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