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WTTW announces new journalism fellowship in memory of broadcast legend John Callaway

Medill graduate students can apply for 10-week paid internship on Chicago Tonight.

For immediate release
Chicago, IL - June 23, 2010

WTTW, Chicago’s premier public television station, is proud to announce the creation of The John Callaway Excellence in Online Journalism Fellowship. This fellowship was created to pay tribute to Chicago Tonight’s founding host, Chicago journalist and broadcast legend John Callaway, following his unexpected death last June. The fellowship will be funded through the generous donations of family, friends, and WTTW viewers.

“John Callaway remains an iconic figure in the history of WTTW,” said Dan Schmidt, president and CEO of WTTW. “I can’t think of a better way to honor his memory than by making this opportunity available to talented young journalists.”

The fellowship is open to graduate students at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Each quarter, the program will give a fellow the opportunity to work with award-winning television producers and web staff to create original and supplemental content for the Chicago Tonight website. The fellows will gain hands-on experience with online journalism, work under deadline pressure, hone editorial judgment, and sharpen fact-checking and research skills.

“My sister Liz and I are thrilled that WTTW is honoring our father’s legacy by creating this fellowship,” said John’s daughter, singer, songwriter, and actress Ann Hampton Callaway. “He was a passionate mentor to budding journalists, and this would have pleased him immensely. He was also keenly interested in new ways of delivering stories to an audience.”

The John Callaway Excellence in Online Journalism Fellowship is a full-time fellowship which runs for 10 weeks and mirrors the Northwestern academic calendar. Each online fellow will receive a $3,000 stipend.

"We admired John Callaway. We look forward to carrying on John's extraordinary commitment to quality news coverage in Chicago," said John Lavine, dean of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.

For information on how to contribute to The John Callaway Excellence in Online Journalism Fellowship, including student application requirements, visit wttw.com/chicagotonight.


About WTTW

For more than 50 years, audiences have turned to WTTW for distinctive programming that informs, inspires, educates, and entertains. WTTW reaches 1.5 million weekly households over a four-state area, making it the most-watched public television station in America. Recognized for its award-winning local and national productions, WTTW is committed to presenting the very best in cultural, nature, science, public affairs, and children's programming across its four distinct television channels: WTTW11, WTTW Prime, its Spanish-language channel WTTW V-me, and WTTW Create, its “how-to” channel. For more information, please visit wttw.com.