Embassy of the United States

Riga, March 30, 2006. -- The U.S. Department of State is pleased to welcome 129 journalists from around the world to the United States for the inaugural Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists. The journalists, representing television, radio, and print media from over 100 countries, will have the opportunity to examine journalistic practices in the United States through visits to both government institutions and NGOs in Washington, DC, several state capitals, and the campuses of seven leading American schools of journalism.

Latvia at will be represented at this event by Anna Novicka, news editor of Russian-language newspaper Telegraf.

The development of Edward R. Murrow program’s initiative is due in large part to the dynamic public-private sector partnership between these schools of journalism and the Aspen Institute, which have generously contributed their expertise and resources to the implementation of this project.

"The Edward R. Murrow Journalism initiative, which we developed as a vital component of the Department's International Visitor Leadership Program, emphasizes many of the democratic principles that guided its namesake in the practice of his profession, including integrity, ethics, courage and social responsibility," said Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Dina H. Powell. "A free press is the foundation of a free society."

The visitors will begin their program with an orientation in Washington, D.C. (April 1-5) that will offer overviews of U.S. foreign policy objectives and the practice of journalism in the United States. They will then travel in groups according to their regions of origin for academic seminars and field activities with faculty and students at one of seven host campuses (April 5-13). Latvian participant together with other journalists from Eurasia will travel to the School of Journalism and Telecommunication at the University of Kentucky.

Finally, the journalists will depart their host campuses for a series of brief visits to several cities and small towns to observe American civil life, grassroots involvement in political affairs, and media coverage of state politics (April 14-18). They will conclude their program in Washington, DC, (April 19-21) with a symposium sponsored by the Aspen Institute. Several American media personalities and federal political leaders, including ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Public Broadcasting Service's Gwen Ifill, and White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, will discuss and field questions concerning contemporary issues in journalism and government press relations.

The Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) developed the Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists as part of its International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Edward R. Murrow is the most distinguished and renowned figure in the history of American broadcast journalism. Murrow's career began at CBS in 1935 and spanned the infancy of news and public affairs programming on radio through the ascendancy of television in the 1950s, as it eventually became America's most popular news medium. In 1961, Murrow left CBS to become director of the United States Information Agency for the new Kennedy administration. His professional career was recently featured in George Clooney's film "Good Night and Good Luck."