National Journalism Center

Founded by conservative journalist M. Stanton Evans in 1977, the National Journalism Center (NJC) is, in the words of former director Ken Grubbs, Jr., "a juggernaut for creating journalists." The NJC provides training and assistance in finding jobs to conservative journalists and has long-standing ties to the tobacco industry.

Contents

History

While the Center maintains a relatively low-profile in a high-profile city, it has given birth to a number of alumni who, through their engagement in public policy journalism and activism, have proven extremely effective in promoting conservative ideas.

NJC offers scholarships to budding young journalist-wannabes so that they can attend its six-to-12-week training sessions, where they receive training in the technical skills of journalism, combined with "economic fellowships," that tell them what to think about topics such as Social Security, federal land policies, environmental regulation and taxation.

Interns at the NJC also receive career advice at seminars featuring speakers from the world of conservative politics and journalism, such as columnist Robert Novak, Washington Times political correspondent Donald Lambro, or Wall Street Journal editorialist John Fund (himself an NJC alumnus).

The NJC also arranges internship opportunities at conservative media, such as Human Events, Fox News or Policy Review, as well as similar internship opportunities with traditional media including such as ABC, CNN and Newsweek.

Finally, it operates a job bank to help place graduates of its programs in permanent media positions. "Over 1,400 students have now graduated from the NJC's 12-week training sessions, held three times a year, and we estimate some 900 of these have gone on to media and media-related positions," declares the NJC web site.

"Among the media outlets where NJCers have worked are the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal; ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, NPR, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and C-SPAN; Time, Newsweek, New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, National Geographic, Readers' Digest, Wired, George, Details, Stuff and Forbes; AP, UPI, Dow Jones Newswire, Bloomberg News Service, Copley News Service, Knight Ridder News Service, and hundreds more," the web site states.

The NJC also is linked with other conservative industry-funded groups. In Cotober 1995, M. Stanton Evans was slated to give the keynote address at a seminar, titled "Consumer Health and Safety: Does the Nanny State Help or Harm Consumers," during National Consumers' Week, organised by Consumer Alert. [1]

According to a guide to right wing groups on universities, the NJC "is a product of the American Conservative Union." [2]The NJC operated as a project of the Education and Research Institute, headed by Evans, which received funds for the NJC.

Funding

• Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
• John M. Olin Foundation

In the four financial years from 1998 to 2001, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation contributed a total of $160,000 - $40,000 each year - to the general operations of the center. (They also contributed a further $105,000 over the 1986-1988 period).[3] In 2002, NJC's grant was cut to $25,000.

In 2001, the NJC's parent organisation, the Education and Research Institute received $40,000 from the John M. Olin Foundation for the NJC. [4]

According to the conservative Capital Research Center, the Education & Research Institute 1999 return - the last it accessed - revealed that ERI ran at a $97,000 loss that year with revenue of $403,058 and expenditure $500,031. It also revealed that in 1994, 1997 and 1998, Exxon Mobil contributed $6,000 each year with a further $6,000 from Exxon Educational Foundation in 1998. In 1994 and 1995 Philip’s Petroleum contributed $5,000 and $1,000 respectively. [5]

Personnel

Until recently, the NJC was directed by M. Stanton Evans, who also edited Consumers' Research (NJC). Major changes followed Evans' departure with the organisation being "taken over" as a project of the Young America's Foundation, with Tom Phillips the chairman of Human Events parent company, chairing the new board of governors. [6]

In September 2002, Evans retired and was replaced by Kenneth E. Grubbs, Jr.[7] In July 2004, however, Grubbs was fired after criticizing the Washington Times regarding its coverage of a bizarre event when the the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who owns the Times, proclaimed himself the Messiah, declared that Marx, Lenin, Hitler and Stalin had converted to his religion in the "spirit world," and then had himself crowned by a congressman. [8]

Mark LaRochelle is NJC's associate editor and webmaster. J. Kelley Harris, a fundraiser for the Young America's Foundation, has been listed as Associate Director of the NJC. [9]

NJC alumni

Since its formation in 1977, the NJC claim that, of the 1400 people who have attended their 12-week long training sessions, 900 have gone on to media and media-related positions. While a high percentage of those who were trained by the NJC appear to have had relatively short media life spans, a minority have carved our careers as media commentators, in conservative think-tanks, trade associations, lobbying or PR companies. [10]

A selection of NJC “alumni&#8221, with the date of their course in brackets, who have endured, as well as some who appear to be rising stars, are:

• John Barnes (summer ’81)
• Joel Bucher (fall ’92)
• Mike Caputo (summer ’85)
• Timothy P. Carney (summer ’99)
• Michael Catanzaro (summer ’96)
• Eileen Ciesla (fall ’00)
• Ann Coulter (spring ’85)
• Brett Decker (spring ’96)
• Michael Fumento (fall ’85)
• John Fund (summer ’81)
• Maggie Gallagher (summer ’80)
• Barbara Gracey (spring ’83)
• Tim Graham (fall ’87)
• Steven Hayward (spring ’81)
• Matt Hisrich (summer ’99)
• Tom Holt (summer ’84)
• John Hood (summer ’87)
• Mark Huber (summer ’79)
• Michael Johns (summer ’83)
• Cliff Kincaid (summer ’78)
• R. Cort Kirkwood (fall ’83)
• Mark LaRochelle (summer ’90)
• Elizabeth Larson (summer ’90)
• Karen Lotter/ Hickey (spring ’96)
• William McGurn (summer ’80)
• John Merline (fall ’84)
• John Meroney (summer ’94)
• Richard Miniter (summer ’88)
• Sean Paige (spring ’88)
• Richard Vigilante (fall ’79)
• Christopher Westley (fall ’84)
• Martin Morse Wooster (spring ’81)

Some of the alumni wax lyrical about the role of the NJC in getting them started as conservative commentators. According to Ann Coulter: "NJC teaches writers to locate primary sources, run down facts, and get quotes. Partisan bile you have to develop on your own." ­Michael Fumento too endorses the NJC: "No institution has worked harder or been more effective than the National Journalism Center in preventing 'responsible journalism' from becoming a true oxymoron." [11]

Case studies

• The National Journalism Center and Philip Morris

Contact information

National Journalism Center
110 Elden Street
Herndon, VA 20170
Phone: 1-800-USA-1776 Fax:703-318-9122 Web: http://nationaljournalismcenter.org

Other SourceWatch resources

• Young America's Foundation

External links

• New project, Bates No 2046662829, April 1993 (estimated), page 2.
• Unitled, Bates No 2021170039,August 13, 1993 (estimated), page 6.
• Philip Morris, “Tobacco strategy”, Bates No 2022887066, March 1994.
• Dalya Massachi and Rich Rowan, "Excerpt from Guide to Uncovering the Right on Campus," October 1994.
• Consumer Alert,"National Consumers Week seminar", Bates No 2046968854, October 1995, page 1.
• “Proactive media relations: the Borelli formula”, Bates No 2072927845/7848, August 1997 (estimated date), page 2.
• Joseph A. D'Agostino, “Conservative Spotlight: National Journalism Center”, Oct 9, 2003(D'Agostino is the Associate Editor of Human Events, a conservative online journal with close ties to the NJC).
• Media Transparency, “The National Journalism Center, accessed November 29, 2003.
• Howard Kurtz, "The Ordinary American, Under Stress and Oversimplified," Washington Post, July 19, 2004, describes the firing of NJC director Ken Grubbs, Jr.