The Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media at Florida International University is receiving a $1 million grant from the Ansin Foundation, the Channel 7 Foundation and Channel 18 Foundation to support and expand journalism education.
The announcement of the gift to FIU was announced Thursday night at an event in Coconut Grove to honor Manny Garcia, who last year was named FIU’s inaugural Knight Foundation executive director. A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, Garcia was a longtime reporter and editor at the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald.
The late Ed Ansin, co-founder of Sunbeam Television and owner of WSVN and ABC Miami, created the Ansin Foundation in 1957. His sons, Andrew and James, established the Channel 7 Foundation and Channel 18 Foundation.
Brian Schriner, Dean of FIU’s College of Communication, Architecture and the Arts, which includes the Caplin School, said the money will benefit every part of the journalism school.
“First, let me thank the Ansin Foundation for being so generous and having confidence in our students and in our faculty, and that’s where the money is going,” he said. “The money is going to impact our students immediately, and the funds will help our students through scholarships to be able to participate in our Washington bureau, to enhance our local news coverage and to enhance our faculty,” he said.
Garcia said the generous donation to FIU Caplin News will be helping “Support the next generations of journalists who are going to go out there and carry the torch forward.”
FIU Caplin News showcases the work of FIU journalism students, who produce daily TV broadcasts in Spanish and English, and a digital website of stories from South Florida and beyond. FIU Caplin News maintains a news bureau in Washington, D.C.
FIU Caplin News is a content partner with WLRN.
