Helping women and minorities into newsrooms since 1993
Helping women and minorities into newsrooms since 1993
A year after welcoming our 30th class, the Sports Journalism Institute is looking forward to working another great summer with the Class of 2023. Bootcamp will begin virtually in late May, then move to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University.
The 2023 class has already made news—it has expanded to 15 by adding Damon Brooks, a senior at the University of Maryland who will intern at The Washington Post.
“I’m so thankful of the opportunity to join SJI’s 31st class,” Brooks said. “I’m looking forward to learning from my new family and building lifelong relationships.” You can learn more about Damon and his journey by following him on Twitter (@damonbrooksjr).
The aspiring sports journalists of this year’s class will bring the number of SJI alums to more than 360. More than half of those graduates remain involved in sports media or communications.
SJI welcomes two new hosts this year: the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Baltimore Banner, a news website founded by the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism, a nonprofit organization. The Banner launched in June 2022.
Four members of the 2023 class will intern at Gannett outlets—the Memphis Commercial Appeal, The Tennessean, Knoxville News-Sentinel and Jackson Clarion-Ledger.
“It’s our 31st class and that’s amazing,” said Leon Carter, a co-founder of SJI and editorial director of talent and development at The Athletic. “At some point I stopped counting the classes. All I will say to the Class of 2023 is be prepared to work hard. The industry needs your talents more than ever.”
SJI extends its thanks to the Cronkite School, our bootcamp host since 2019, and especially Dean Battinto Batts and assistant dean Brett Kurland.
We also say thank you to those in the TV, digital and print media industries who share their time with SJI classes, including long-time SJI instructors David Squires of N.C. A&T University and Malcolm Moran, director of the Sports Capital Journalism Program at Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis. Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon and Lisa Salters of ESPN, and Tom Rinaldi of FOX are also familiar faces in SJI classes.
“Bootcamp week is a high point for all of us involved with the program,” said Sandy Rosenbush, a co-founder of SJI and a news producer who works with ESPN’s Saturday Night Football crew. “We tell students that by the time bootcamp wraps up, they’ll be part of an extended family that cares deeply about them and is invested in their success. They smile at the idea—but on the final day, most everyone sheds a tear.”
Julian Basena
The Tennessean
University of Maryland
Senior
Damon Brooks
The Washington Post
The University of Maryland
Senior
Nathan Canilao
Southern California News Group
San Jose State University
Junior
Michael Chavez
Seattle Times
New Mexico State University
Senior
Jordan Davis
Clarion-Ledger
North Carolina A&T State University
Senior
Lanie De La Milera
Knoxville News Sentinel
University of South Florida
Senior
Sarah Effress
Charlotte Observer
Northwestern University
Senior
Noah Furtado
Star Tribune
Arizona State University
Sophomore
Christina Huang
Yahoo Sports
University of Texas
Junior
Jerry Jiang
Memphis Commercial Appeal
Pepperdine University
Senior
Kobe Mosley
St. Louis Post Dispatch
Butler University
Senior
Lawrence Price
Kansas City Star
Northwestern University
Junior
Peter Rauterkus
Dallas Morning News
Louisiana State University
Junior
Tia Reid
ESPN
Arizona State University
Sophomore
Anish Vasudevan
Baltimore Banner
Syracuse University
Junior