May 5, 2009

MEDIA CONTACT: Nick Massella
202-994-3087; massella@gwu.edu

GW'S PRIME MOVERS MEDIA PROGRAM CELEBRATES FIFTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY
MAY 6, 2009

EVENT:  

Local high school participants in this year's GW Prime Movers Media Program will be recognized with certificates of completion and celebrated for their achievements at the program's fifth anniversary luncheon. Maureen Bunyan, anchor of WJLA-TV (ABC), will serve as emcee, and will be joined by Francine Zorn Trachtenberg. Two student-produced videos will be shown at the event. Participating schools in this year's program include Ballou Senior High School, Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Edison Senior High School, McKinley Technology High School, Roosevelt Senior High School and Wilson Senior High School.

WHEN:   

Wednesday, May 6, 2009; 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

WHERE:   

The George Washington University
1957 E St., NW
City View Room, 7th Floor
Washington, D.C.
Foggy Bottom - GWU Metro Station (Orange and Blue lines)

RSVP:   

Media are welcome and should RSVP to Nick Massella at 202-994-3087 or massella@gwu.edu.

BACKGROUND:

The George Washington University's Prime Movers Media Program pairs veteran and retired journalists from leading news media companies with students in elective media classes at Washington, D.C., high schools to help them create or strengthen student-run media. Students and GW Prime Movers Media Program interns meet during school hours over the course of the academic year - several weeks of which are complemented with the expertise of professional journalists. Former professional mentors with GW's Prime Movers Media Program include Bruce Horowitz, USA Today; Felix Contreras, National Public Radio; Seth Stern, Congressional Quarterly; and Pat Wingert, Newsweek. This year's professional mentors include Don Hecker, The New York Times, and Tamara Jones, Yvonne Lamb and Sylvia Moreno, The Washington Post (retired).

The Prime Movers Media Program was founded in 2004 by former Washington Post columnist Dorothy Gilliam with funding from the James S. and John L. Knight Foundation. Last year, the program expanded to Philadelphia. More than 2,000 high school students in the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia and Philadelphia have participated in the program, and an estimated 30,000 high school students have been exposed to the student media they have created as readers, viewers and listeners. Additionally, some 70 college interns and 50 professional journalists representing prominent major-market print and broadcast media outlets, as well as smaller ethnic outlets, have served as mentors. Since its inception, Prime Movers has received almost $1 million in grant funding from the Knight Foundation to support the Washington, D.C., area and Philadelphia programs. In the past year, the program has received funding from D.C. Public Schools and the William Penn Foundation for the Philadelphia program.

The George Washington University's Prime Movers Media Program is part of the University's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences' School of Media and Public Affairs. GW's School of Media and Public Affairs is a dynamic, interdisciplinary program based in the heart of Washington, D.C., where media, public affairs and politics intersect. The school's undergraduate and graduate programs combine elements of strategic communication, journalism and political communication with contemporary issues in domestic and international politics.

For more information about The George Washington University's Prime Movers Media Program, visit www.gwu.edu/~primemovers.

For more news about The George Washington University, visit www.gwnewscenter.org.

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