The Kiplinger Program’s journey to this point has been on a twisting, turning path, but it’s finally starting to feel like we’ve made it home.
Kiplinger spent 47 years at Ohio State University before circumstances dictated that the best plan going forward was to move to another university. It so happened that when that was being contemplated, Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism was particularly interested in what we were doing and recognized the potential for collaboration.
They made the Kiplinger benefactors an offer hard to refuse. Once that happened however it took a laborious three and a half years to separate from OSU and land in Athens, which officially started in February 2019.
The move has been a good one for the program, being immersed in a culture that is profoundly dedicated to quality journalism. It has produced good vibes for both the school and the program and the first two Kiplinger Fellowships into our new home have been successful and popular with the attendees.
This fall Kiplinger will further establish its foothold at OHIO as it unveils its new logo, colors and website, one that bears a strong feel of OHIO pride and presence. While we remain an independent arm with the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, it will be obvious that we share much DNA and will be branded as such.
A new home, a new look and a new window into the worldwide web moves us another step forward.
But, that’s just the beginning.
After 11 years in our current iteration, which focuses on training professional journalists in digital and social media, the thought is it’s time to reinvent the Kiplinger Fellowship as well. Plans are underway for 2022, our 50th anniversary, to unveil a potential fellowship format that puts less emphasis on the technology of journalism and more on the important topics we cover – climate change, social justice, poverty, drug epidemics, immigration, politics. It’s a big shift, but one that’s worth consideration.
Our mission will remain to focus on training professionals in public affairs journalism, just as it has for the past 48 years. We will continue our collaboration with other journalism groups when we believe we can make a difference and we will continue to strengthen our programs that we are uniquely qualified to offer journalists in other countries who are desperate for training and fortifying their democracies.
We’re home, but we’ll never stop moving forward.