Media Bloggers Association Launches First-of-its-kind Journalism Education Program

Heritage Foundation, and Center for Budget and Policy Priorities partner with MBA to offer journalism training for bloggers

NEW ROCHELLE, NY, and NASHVILLE, TN February 21, 2005 - The Media Bloggers Association launched today the Media Bloggers Association Education and Training Program with the announcement of a unique partnership between the MBA And two leading Washington policy institutes: The Heritage Foundation's Center for Media and Public Policy and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Under the auspices of the MBA, the two organizations will sponsor training for 15 MBA members to attend a two-day CARR training "boot camp". CARR stands for "Computer-Aided Research and Reporting" and is designed to give journalists and now "citizen journalists" tools to cut through the PR cant and spin to get to the real underlying news on public policy issues, using publicly available databases and statistical research techniques the academic world has used for decades.

The MBA Education and Training Program will be overseen by MBA Member Mark Tapscott who is currently the Director of the Center for Media and Public Policy at The Heritage Foundation. The CARR "boot camp" is just the first in a series of Education and Training programs planned by the MBA.

"Mark came up with the terrific idea for offering CARR training to bloggers soon after joining the MBA last year", says Robert Cox, President of the Media Bloggers Association, "our only concern was the need to remain non-partisan and how working with Heritage alone might impact that. Mark solved that by enlisting his 'opposite numbers' at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities around the common goal of accountability and transparency in government."

"Bringing together two leading think tanks and bloggers from different political perspectives as part of an innovative program like the MBA Education And Training Program was complex, said Tapscott, "but it's definitely going to have been worth the wait."

The first CARR "boot camp" will be held at the Freedom Forum's First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University as part of the MBA's BlogNashville, a three-day event hosted by the New Century Journalism School at Belmont University, a mile from the Freedom Forum. The "boot camp" will include two days of training and course materials provide at no cost to MBA members. Plans for a second CARR "boot camp for bloggers" at the National Press Club in Washington, DC are already underway for this coming summer.

The Media Bloggers Association (http://www.mediabloggers.org) is a non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting MBA members and their blogs. Founded in 2004, the membership includes independent/amateur bloggers, professional bloggers and professional writers who operate a personal blog, as well as those interested in the development of media blogging, citizen journalism, and related endeavors.
The Heritage Foundation (http://www.heritage.org), founded in 1973, is a research and educational institute - a think tank - whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (http://www.cbpp.org/) is one of the nation’s premier policy organizations working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals. The Center conducts research and analysis to inform public debates over proposed budget and tax policies and to help ensure that the needs of low-income families and individuals are considered in these debates.

The Freedom Forum (http://www.freedomforum.org/) is a nonpartisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. The foundation focuses on three priorities: the Newseum, First Amendment freedoms and newsroom diversity. The Freedom Forum funds the operations of the Newseum; the First Amendment Center; and the Diversity Institute. The First Amendment Center and the Diversity Institute are housed in the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
The New Century Journalism Program at Belmont University (http://www.belmont.edu/) contains several primary and interrelated components, all of which are closely related to Belmont University's mission to integrate professional education with a strong core emphasis in the liberal arts and ethical development. Our objective is to provide each of our students with a high quality education that combines strong critical thinking skills and practical training in the most current professional methods with a personal understanding of the role that journalists play in our society.

For additional information contact:
Robert Cox
Media Bloggers Association
(928) 223-5711
FAX: (928) 223-5711
info@mediabloggers.org
http://www.mediabloggers.org