(Credit: London Allen)

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Journalism Ethics announced that assistant professor Katy Culver will be the new director for its Center for Journalism Ethics.

Culver succeeds Robert Dreschel, who was named director of the center in 2013.

In an e-mail, Culver told iMediaEthics, “I am looking forward to working closely with professional communities and increasing our interactions with the public. One of my research areas is public understanding of and involvement with journalism ethics, so I would like the Center to serve as a bridge between news organizations and the communities they serve.”

Culver said she hopes that moving forward the center is able to provide “more opportunities for student involvement” and more resources for educators.

“This work has been so important to me because journalism is critical to our democracy and social interactions, yet trust levels are low and pressures on news media are high,” Culver added. “If the Center and I can help strengthen ethical practice and the public’s investment in news, we will be making an important contribution.”

Meanwhile, DePaul University opened a Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence, Robert Feder reported.

Carol Marin and Don Moseley will lead the center. In a phone call with iMediaEthics, Marin explained she and Mosely will have students in their investigative reporting class, which starts this fall, work with them “to do a deep dive of an investigative piece” working as assistant producers.

As such, they will get hands-on experience dealing with Freedom of Information requests, data searches and other aspects of investigative reporting.

In addition to teaching seniors and graduate students, Marin says the center expects to hold workshops and an annual conference, but that schedule is currently being worked out. DePaul wants to not just teach its students but help make sure that come graduation they are confident in their career path and hopefully in paid internships or jobs.

Feder added:

“The nationally acclaimed reporter-and-producer team, who’ve been teaching at DePaul since 2003, will serve as co-directors of the new center in the College of Communication. ‘We plan to be a bridge for our students from the classroom to the working newsrooms of the world,’ Marin told the gathering. ‘We’ll also work to be a bridge from DePaul to the larger university and to the community, bringing journalists’ voices to campus to focus on the burning issues and the headlines and the things that are behind the headlines.'”

In a news release from the university last year, the university said “Truth, accuracy, fairness and context will serve as the guiding principles for DePaul University’s new Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence.”

“Beyond the nuts and bolts of learning to be a reporter, the center will focus on the ‘whys’ of journalism and the responsibilities of being a journalist,” Moseley is quoted as saying.