INDIANAPOLIS—DuJuan McCoy, owner, president and CEO of Circle City Broadcasting, has announced a partnership between JPMorgan Chase, Circle City Broadcasting, Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, and the DuJuan and Tina McCoy Foundation to create a one-year degree program for news and media producers.
The program will primarily focus on newscast producing but offer additional guidance and instruction in producing specials and TV show production.
The backers of the program said the partnership will enable Ivy Tech Community College to become the first known college in the country to create a one-year degree program (two semesters; 21-31 credit hours) for news and media producers that will be called a Multicultural Media Producing Program, or MMPP.
As part of the effort, the Circle City Broadcasting news leadership team will become adjunct professors for the program. Circle City is the parent company of WISH-TV and MyINDY-TV 23 and the broadcaster will help offer regular practical educational opportunities to participants in the program via its Statewide News Network facilities located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
“I have been working on this initiative for a few years, and I am so happy to find collaborative partners like Ivy Tech -Indianapolis and JPMorgan Chase to support me in this needed industry program,” McCoy said. “We believe this program can grow to be one of the most effective means to introduce more diverse individuals into the leadership ranks in newsrooms across America as well as become a sustainable program to create a pipeline of qualified news producers for broadcasters and media companies across the country.”
Beginning in January 2023, the first cohort of 20 students will be selected as the program’s inaugural class, and the second group of 20 will follow in the fall of 2023.
The MMPP will be open to all students of all backgrounds with an emphasis on ensuring multicultural diversity and accessibility for underserved individuals. The DuJuan and Tina McCoy Foundation will provide annual scholarships to selected individuals of MMPP based on need and a one-page essay on why they would like to enter the program.
The program’s curriculum will be customized and align with the Certificate/Associate Degree in Professional Communication. Programming will include courses and electives in the following areas: Humanistic Ways of Knowing, Scientific Ways of Knowing, and Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing. Students will be part of a program that provides not only the academic curriculum but wraparound support and hands-on practical experiences in partnership with Circle City Broadcasting at the Circle City Broadcasting headquarters in Indianapolis, where the company produces more than 80 hours of live news and programming weekly.
JPMorgan Chase has made a $150,000 philanthropic investment into the Multicultural Media Producing Program that will open up work-based learning opportunities for high school and community college students.
“Diversity in the workforce creates a competitive advantage – and is especially impactful in media organizations where a broad range of ideas and perspectives strengthens our culture,” said Christina Moungey, Indiana & Ohio Region manager for JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking. “This investment to create the Multicultural Media Producing Program supports organizations that provide young leaders with a pathway toward a successful career, and is an example of how our firm’s $30 billion racial equity commitment to help close the racial wealth gap touches down in Indianapolis.”
The MMPP will be offered at the Ivy Tech Indianapolis campus and anchored by long-time professional communications professor and former broadcaster Charles Gidney. Gidney serves as the Department Chair for Communication and Social Sciences for Ivy Tech Community College in the Indianapolis service area.
Ivy Tech will work in conjunction with the Circle City Broadcasting news leadership team to create a curriculum that satisfies Ivy Tech degree standards and delivers highly trained producers to enter the news producing workforce in America.
“Ivy Tech Indianapolis is not only thrilled but also committed to making the MMPP a huge success in the short and long term,” Dr. Lorenzo Esters, chancellor of Ivy Tech Indianapolis, said. “We are pleased to partner with Circle City Broadcasting and JPMorgan Chase together we seek to prepare individuals for careers as producers in the media business in our region, state, and nation. This is one additional way that Ivy Tech Indianapolis seeks to be responsive to the needs of our diverse communities.”
