Staff and supporters of NewsLink Indiana are studying ways in which the project can remain fiscally sound when the grant money runs out in June 2005.-á
"We're seeing what's available as far as funding," NewsLink Project Director Tim Pollard said. "We're trying to determine if there are other grants, outside or corporate partners, or other areas that would help us
finance the project."
NewsLink Indiana, which works to combine media such as Indiana Public Radio and the Daily News to gather news, is funded by the Lilly Endowment's $20 million iCommunications grant.
Pollard, an assistant professor in the Department of Telecommunications for more than five years, was appointed NewsLink's project director several weeks ago. Pollard helped find the initial funding through the iCommunication grant but is now responsible for all non-editorial areas, such as budgets and bills. Along with his efforts, Pollard said that the Center for Media Design, the College of Communication, Information and Media, NewsLink's professional staff and the administration are actively seeking funding options.
There are multiple projects involved in the iCommunication grant, and each project runs out of money at a different time. The Center for Media Design is currently working to assess the final budget and determine when projects will stop receiving funding. Pollard said he thought this process should be done soon.
One option for extended funding is from the Lilly Endowment itself. Reports are sent to the Endowment every six months detailing the uses of the grant money. It's possible that the Lilly Endowment could offer more money, but the university cannot just apply for it.
"We deal differently with Lilly than most other foundations," Acting President Beverley Pitts said. "Instead of us filling out applications in the hopes of receiving funding, they tell us when they have something to apply for."
Pollard said, though, that even if Lilly does not offer more grant money, the program is sophisticated enough, with professional equipment and staff, to attract other donors.
"We're looking for everything," Pollard said. "We believe we have a strong foundation here, and we have excellent assets and resources. We have a good base that we can present to outside entities."
NewsLink Indiana, meanwhile, is still broadcasting three 3-minute news segments and one 1-minute weather segment every night during the week. The staff, comprised of immersion students, reports, writes and edits stories for an eight-county area in central Indiana. Immersion students work 40 hours each week in the state-of-the-art newsroom and receive 12-15 credits for their efforts.
"We have our second semester immersion students working in here now," Managing Editor of Convergent News Terry Heifetz said. "Some people from first semester are being paid to teach the new students and that's
working out really well so far."
The project is also set to launch its Web site soon. The site has been in active development since April 2003 and will be updated daily with new information, Web News Editor Wright Bryan said. The site will include news, sports and entertainment stories, as well as weather reports and forecasts. A special section titled "Your News" will allow the general public to post stories or announcements. Additionally, the front page includes a community calendar, a daily poll and the on-air schedule for NewsLink Indiana, and its two main advertisers, Indiana Public Radio and WIPB, Ball State's PBS affiliate.
Bryan said that once the Web site is up and running, students outside of the Department of Telecommunications are invited to get involved. Students can volunteer as photographers, reporters or info graphic designers, he said. Also, involvement can come in the form of a class or as a paid staff member. For instance, the graphics intern currently working on the Web site is a paid journalism student.
"Since we're TV, radio and Web, there are multiple outlets for talent and creativity," Bryan said. "Students can do a story for us and then dabble in sound production or video production, for instance."
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