Members of the student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists at The King’s College elected Gabriela Kressley president for the 2020-21 academic year.
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Carol Wambui is the fourth Arne Fjeldstad Scholar, who received a scholarship to be part of the NYC Semester in Journalism (NYCJ) at The King’s College in NYC. She is studying Journalism at the Multimedia University of Kenya. During her time at King’s in the NYCJ program, she is interning at ReligionUnplugged, an award-winning non-profit news outlet that covers religion.
After a Norwegian journalist and minister named Arne Fjeldstad died of a blood clot in his lung in 2014, MPJI director Paul Glader had the privilege to meet Hilde Margrethe Sæbø Fjeldstad in Kristiansand, Norway and other family members of Arne in 2015.
Glader and Hilde spoke and prayed about how they might honor her late husband, Arne, his focus on reporting about religion in public life and his legacy of caring for journalists around the world. Arne was a Lutheran minister and a night editor at the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten. Arne helped develop The Media Project, an international network of working journalists who care about good journalism, particularly religion reporting. Arne was beloved by many people in Africa, India, Latin America and other corners of the globe.
As Hilde and her daughter, Silje Marie, visited New York City in 2015, Hilde said she believed in what the McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute was doing to teach and promote quality journalism through its programs at The King’s College in NYC and as the home of The Media Project, of which Professor Paul Glader now serves as executive director. She said she would love to see a scholarship that honored Arne and allowed students from the global south to participate in the NYC Semester in Journalism (NYCJ) program.
Hilde Fjeldstad (right) with her mother and Prof. Paul Glader (left), executive director of The Media Project and the McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute, during a visit in Kristiansand, Norway, in 2015
Glader and team began raising money to make it possible for a student from Uganda, Gertrude Too-Rom, to attend the program. Then, in 2016, Howard and Roberta Ahmanson (Roberta being the chairwoman of The Media Project) agreed to fund an annual scholarship ($20,000 in value) for at least one international journalism student from the global south to attend the NYCJ program. Since then, the NYCJ program has hosted two annual Fjeldstad Scholars from Uganda, one from Kenya and one from the Republic of Georgia.
The scholarship funds either two $10,000 scholarships to help students attend NYCJ or one $20,000 scholarship. The scholarship(s) covers the bulk of tuition and housing for students (leaving costs for transport to NY, food and a small amount for tuition). In some rare instances, one student may be selected for the scholarship each year and fully funded. The students will be placed in a newsroom internship in NYC for 20 hours per week (receiving 6 academic credits). Most often, the Fjeldstad Scholar will serve as an intern at ReligionUnplugged.com, the award-winning, non-profit news outlet connected to TheMediaProject.org and an important outlet for TMP members to report on religion in public life around the world. The Fjeldstad scholars also take three classes at The King’s College with other students in the NYC Semester in Journalism program, who come from 40 partner schools around the US and world.
Silje Marie Fjeldstad (left) and Hilde Fjeldstad (right) the daughter and wife of the late Arne Fjeldstad, during a visit to New York City in 2015.
Colleges and universities that would like to become a partner to the NYCJ program so their students can compete for the Arne Fjeldstad scholarship can write to Paul Glader at Pglader@tkc.edu. And students who would like to apply for the scholarship can do so at https://www.tkc.edu/nycs and should be in touch with Eleni Glader at eglader@tkc.edu about their application.
We spoke with our current Arne Fjeldstad Scholar, Carol Wambui, who is from Nairobi, Kenya, and is interning at ReligionUnplugged.com as part of her internship.
What first sparked your interest in journalism? What led you to consider pursuing it in college?
From a young age, I have always been fascinated by the media, from news anchoring to news reporting. I did not know much about journalism then but I was sure it was what I wanted to do, even if it was not full-time. Just before graduating from high school, we wrote down our courses of interest and the colleges where they were offered. I wrote out my choices, and journalism was at the very top. When I received my high school grades, and was accepted to enroll in a journalism program at college, it was almost a confirmation of my destiny. Back in high school, I had done some basic newswriting and reporting after major school functions, but that was all I knew about journalism. An opportunity to learn more excited me.
How did you hear about NYCJ and the Arne Fjeldstad scholarship? What made you decide to apply?
Stella Ogigo, a former editor at the Kenya Broadcast Corporation in Kenya, who has also worked with Professor Glader in the past, mentioned the program to me and advised that I apply. I knew that an opportunity to study journalism in the U.S.—a place of diversity, advancement and exposure—was exactly what I needed for my career. I believed God had blessed me with a rare opportunity, so I took it. I applied and I am so grateful that I was accepted.
“Becoming one of the people who is shining a light on religion across the globe is a beautiful thing and I cannot wait to learn more and grow in this.”
- Carol Wambui, Arne Fjeldstad Scholar
What do you hope to gain from your time in New York?
During my time in New York, I want to learn everything that was not taught in my college classes—from the field work experiences to my writing skills. I want to learn and enhance my reporting skills, whether by live-recording or writing as both will help me in my investigative journalism. I believe that studying in one of the biggest cities in the world will not only enhance my career, but also my view and perception of the world, of successful journalism and of life in general.
How will you bring the skills you have learned here back to Nairobi?
My time at The King’s College is giving me a true journalistic eye that I will bring back to Nairobi. I am learning to work with diligence and excellence at my internship with Religion Unplugged. I believe I will practice and even show others how to make journalism in Kenya better than before.
You are interning at ReligionUnplugged (a publication of The Media Project, which Arne led). What are you learning about the importance of religion coverage in the news?
Honestly, I had never thought about religion coverage before starting this internship. The only religion news coverage I ever knew of were the videos I made with my church. When I joined Religion Unplugged, it was like my eyes were opened to religion reporting. I am sure there are other people out there like myself, who probably have not learned the importance of religion coverage. Becoming one of the people who is shining a light on religion across the globe is a beautiful thing and I cannot wait to learn more and grow in this. I feel like a lot of people need to know what is going on in their particular religions as well as in other religions and that is exactly what Religion Unplugged is doing for the world. I am happy to be part of it.
What are some of your future journalistic goals?
I am interested in moving into investigative journalism, and would like to take journalism into a whole other level of finding and fighting crimes. This is not a well developed field in Kenya, and I hope to be among the few who can grow it and make it something huge. I hope to have a media network at some point in my career where I can host different types of media coverage like sports, investigations and religion, and mediums like print, radio and broadcast. I would want to help highlight any sort of journalist worldwide starting from my home country. I hope to help not only future journalists, but also people with other career interests, by offering scholarships and sponsorships to advance in their education. These are some of my many future goals.
What has surprised you about New York City?
New York City is nothing like I imagined, read or watched in the movies. I guess seeing things with your own eyes makes all the difference. I think it is one thing to hear or even read about something, and it’s another to actually experience something. I came in winter, and the weather is like nothing I have ever experienced before in my life. With extremes of up to -3 degrees Celsius, I definitely wasn’t ready for the cold.
How is Nairobi different from New York and what has been the biggest challenge to living here?
New York boasts a diversity of cultures and religions that makes it unlike Nairobi or any other town in Kenya. Nairobi is my city, my town—I literally know almost every corner of the city. I know how to get around Nairobi, which is not the case in New York. Still, I am learning little by little how to get around. I am naturally adventurous and curious, which has made aligning with how things work around here much easier. I am always ready to learn or experience something new. I am happy in New York, even with its many differences.
Carol Wambui, on the roof of her apartment building overlooking Brooklyn, NY.
Meet our previous Arne Fjeldstad Scholars:
NEW YORK – The tenth class of the NYC Semester in Journalism (NYCJ) arrived in January from all over the nation and globe. The class of 13 students represent 10 different universities.
Entrepreneur and professor Paul Glader and his team members announced today plans to build and test a product that aims to improve the corrections process of news organizations. Their initiative is supported with a $75,000 investment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
NEW YORK – The ninth class of the NYC Semester in Journalism (NYCJ) arrived in August from all over the United States. The class of 13 students represent eight different universities.
The student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists at The King’s College marked the conclusion of its inaugural year with the election of a new president and by capping off the Spring semester with two talks featuring world-class journalists.
It may be the one issue in America capable of uniting Mormons, Native Americans, Roman Catholics and Evangelical Christians. The issue of religious liberty has, in recent years, increasingly galvanized people of many faith traditions in the United States to unite against secular forces. One of its most-vocal backers and eloquent advocates is opinion journalist David French.
NEW YORK – The Seventh class of the NYC Semester in Journalism (NYCJ) arrived in August from all over the United States and Uganda. The class of 14 students represent 11 different universities.
They will participate in the unique semester-long, off-campus study program operated by the McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute at The King’s College in NYC. The students live in student housing at King’s, where they take three classes, including capstone courses with Prof. Terry Mattingly, a syndicated religion columnist, and Prof. Paul Glader, a former staff writer at The Wall Street Journal. Under the guidance of Prof. Clemente Lisi (former deputy head of news at the New York Daily News), they also work 20 hours per week in a newsroom in NYC, earning six academic credits under and pursuing at least one byline per week for their portfolios.
Here is a roster of the Fall 2018 class of NYCJ
Brianna Kudisch is a journalism major from Taylor Univeristy in Upland, Ind.. She will be interning at The Brooklyn Paper, a weekly broadsheet that covers news related exclusively to the New York City borough of Brooklyn.
Brooke Sargent is a Broadcast Journalism major from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, Calif. She will be interning at Newsweek, on the video desk.
Cassidy Klein is a journalism and philosophy double major from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, Calif. She will be interning at The Queens Ledger, a weekly community newspaper for Queens, NY.
Emma Miller is an English major from Messiah College in Grantham, PA. She will be interning at The Queens Courier, a local paper in Queens, NY.
Goldene Brown is a Multimedia Journalism major from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill. She will be interning at the New York Daily News.
Jenna Miller is a Journalism major from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, Calif. She will be interning at The Story Exchange, a media organization telling stories of women entrepreneurs.
Josh Towner is a journalism major from Bethel University in Minneapolis Minn. He will be interning at The Queens Courier, a community paper in Queens, NY.
Julianna Hernandez is a Journalism and Integrated Media major at Biola University from La Mirada in Calif. She will be interning at the New York Daily News.
Kassidy Vavra is a Journalism, Culture and Society major from The King’s College. She will be interning at the New York Daily News.
Kennedy Weber is a Multimedia Journalism and Political Science major from Milligan College in Tenn.. She will be interning at Providence Magazine, a journal of Christianity and American foreign policy.
Marlee Drake is a Journalism major from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, Calif. She will be interning at Newsweek, on the video desk.
Nathan Foster is a Dual major in Sports Journalism and Public Relations from Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif. He will be interning at Newsweek.
Princess Jones is a Multimedia Journalism major from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville Tenn.. She will be interning at the New York Amsterdam News, the oldest black newspaper in the country.
Ruth Rose Akongo is a journalism and media major from Uganda Christian University in Mukono, Uganda. She will be interning at Providence Magazine, a journal of Christianity and American foreign policy.
“The Poynter Institute is a gold standard for journalistic ethics and leadership,” said Media Project Executive Director Paul D. Glader. “These hard-working journalists from the far corners of the world will pick up insights they can take back to the newsrooms in their home countries."
New York – The McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute is training Dow Jones News Fund business reporting interns this Spring, preparing 28 young business journalists in two sessions before their summer internships begin.
Paul Glader, associate professor of journalism, media and entrepreneurship and director of the McCandlish Phillips Journalism Institute at The King’s College, has been named as the Laventhol/Newsday Visiting Professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism for the Spring 2018 semester.
Journalism faculty of The King’s College recently sat down with a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist to discuss his book on the resurgence of religion in China after the Mao administration.
Communications and journalism students show off their work, then listen to a former Wall Street Journal reporter talk about how we parse news and truth as journalists and Christians.
In an era when immediate social media banter surrounds every political speech or hasty tweet, what is the role of the press? How can journalists—especially those who profess to follow Christ—pursue truth, act ethically, and help equip an informed electorate?
The 2017 Summer Academy runs July 23-28 and is now accepting applications on a rolling basis, with deposits due by May 15, 2017.
This new interdisciplinary major, incorporating the College’s robust Politics, Philosophy and Economics core, will prepare intellectually well-rounded graduates for careers in journalism.
Where do we most often find real truth, real facts in a new era of Internet hoaxes, fake news stories and new political administrations that tout their own "alternative facts"? (Originally appeared on Forbes.com)
The fourth class of the NYC Semester in Journalism (NYCJ) arrived in January from all over the United States, as well as one student all the way from Kampala, Uganda. The class of 12 students represent eight different universities.
By Emma Clark and Daphne Seah NEW YORK— For Sky News’ Ireland Correspondent David Blevins, balanced, accurate and positive stories in journalism were paramount in resolving Northern Ireland’s deep tumultuous past. Opening his talk “Making Hope and History Rhyme: Reporting the Northern Ireland Peace Process” at The King’s College with lesser-known facts of the region […]
November 2 2015. Updated January 6 2015. Since 2006, the Washington Journalism Center (WJC) has trained and placed aspiring journalism students in countless internships. Students come from Christian colleges across the country to Washington, D.C. for one semester, and the program equips them to figure out if journalism is their vocation or calling. The brainchild of Terry Mattingly, Universal […]