Harold Dow Professorship Established at Florida A&M University School of Journalism & Graphic Communication

New Paid Internship Program, President's Award and Professional Development Program At CBS News Also Created

CBS News is implementing an array of initiatives to further promote diversity and excellence in journalism, it was announced today by Sean McManus, President CBS News and Sports.  Among the workplace programs CBS is putting into effect in 2011 are a new paid internship program, a professional development program and a discretionary award to be used by the president of CBS News to recognize truly outstanding contributions by News Division employees who promote excellence and diversity at CBS News. 

CBS News is also establishing the Harold Dow Professorship at the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication at Florida A&M University, which was the first historically black university to have an accredited journalism program.  The professorship is designed to enhance presentation skills for students interested in on-air positions in broadcast television and will begin in the 2011-12 academic year.

"Through these initiatives in our workplace and with the aspiring young journalists at the distinguished Florida A&M journalism program, CBS News is expanding its longstanding commitment to diversity, to industry excellence and to nurturing future generations of journalists," said McManus.  "We also are extremely pleased that we are able to memorialize our colleague and dear friend, broadcasting legend Harold Dow, in this significant way."

In addition to the President's Award, CBS News' new initiatives, which will be implemented beginning in 2011, include:

• Internship - Each year, CBS News will bring seven summer interns of diverse backgrounds to New York, all expenses paid.
• Employment - CBS News will create a professional development program that identifies two news producers of diverse backgrounds in the early stages of their careers at CBS stations and pay half of their salary each year.  
• Education - CBS is establishing the Harold Dow Professorship at the School of Journalism at Florida A&M University.  The professorship is named in honor of the late, award-winning 48 HOURS correspondent who died suddenly in August 2010. 

            "We are profoundly appreciative to have the CBS Harold Dow Professorship, which will immediately enhance the education of students committed to a career in broadcast journalism," said Dr. James Hawkins, Dean of the Florida A&M University School of Journalism & Graphic Communication.  "This professorship speaks volumes about CBS's regard for journalism education and appreciation for Harold Dow, a gifted journalist whose work was nothing short of outstanding.  It is our goal to produce journalists who will commit to the trusted standards of CBS and Harold Dow."

            "Harold was a celebrated journalist, a CBS colleague and a friend and mentor to me and to so many throughout his career," said CBS News senior producer Kim Godwin, a Florida A&M School of Journalism & Graphic Communication alumna and former faculty member.  "I am proud of CBS's ongoing focus on excellence and diversity in our newsroom and in the industry as a whole, and so very gratified that the students at FAMU will benefit from this wonderful professorship established in celebration of Harold's extraordinary contributions and career."

Dow had been a correspondent for 48 HOURS since 1990, after serving as a contributor to the broadcast since its premiere on Jan. 19, 1988.  He was a contributor to the critically acclaimed 1986 documentary "48 Hours on Crack Street," which led to the creation of the single-topic weekly news magazine.  Over the course of his distinguished career at the Network, Dow served as a correspondent for the CBS News magazine, STREET STORIES, and reported for the CBS EVENING NEWS, SUNDAY MORNING and the CBS News legal series, VERDICT.  He also served as co-anchor on CBS News' NIGHTWATCH, prior to which he was a correspondent and reporter at CBS News' Los Angeles bureau.

About CBS News

CBS News is the news and information arm of CBS Corporation, dedicated to providing the best in journalism under standards it pioneered at the dawn of radio and television and continues to set in today's digital age.  Headquartered in New York, CBS News includes bureaus across the globe and influential, critically acclaimed programs that provide newsmaking features and interviews, investigative reports, analysis and breaking news 24 hours a day, seven days a week, utilizing a multi-platform model for news distribution across television (CBS Television Network), radio (CBS Radio Network), the Internet (CBSNews.com) and hand-held devices (CBS Mobile).  CBS News' multiple award-winning programs include its flagship daily news program, THE CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC; #1 news magazine, 60 MINUTES; fastest-growing network morning program, THE EARLY SHOW; top-rated true-crime magazine show, 48 HOURS MYSTERY; newsmaking Washington public-affairs show, FACE THE NATION; and #1 Sunday morning program, SUNDAY MORNING.  Other CBS News originals range from CBS Radio's WORLD NEWS ROUNDUP, broadcasting's longest-running program, to CBSNews.com's innovative new webcasts and blogs, available at http://www.cbsnews.com/. 

About Florida A&M University (SJGC)

Florida A&M University was the first historically black college or university to have an accredited journalism program, accredited by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, the historic accreditation body for all journalism schools across the country.  The Florida A&M School of Journalism & Graphic Communication (SJGC) is nationally known for its outstanding students.  Its graduates work in positions of responsibility in newsrooms and media-related operations across the country.  Each year, recruiters from the top television networks, local stations, newspapers and magazines make their way to Florida A&M University to interview applicants for internships and entry-level positions.  Moreover, FAMU students regularly receive journalistic awards from organizations such as the Florida Associated Press Collegiate Broadcasters Competition, the William Randolph Hearst College Competition, the Southeast Journalism Conference, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Black College Communication Association and the National Association of Black Journalists. 

*   *   *

Press Contact:

Jeff Ballabon                            212-975-7525                    ballabonj@cbsnews.com