Reg Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism
Participate in our unique media collaborative
Mercer University’s own Reg Murphy Center for Collaborative Journalism is a unique community media collaborative combining Mercer’s liberal arts-based Journalism and Media Studies programs with the professional expertise of:
- The (Macon) Telegraph, Georgia’s third-largest daily newspaper;
- Georgia Public Broadcasting, the third-largest public broadcaster in the country based on population reach;
- 13WMAZ, the most-watched television station in Central Georgia.
A model for others
The Murphy Center was launched in 2011 with nearly $6 million in grants from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Peyton Anderson Foundation. In 2017, the Murphy Center received an additional $2 million grant from the Knight Foundation to expand opportunities for students and broaden its engagement efforts with the community. The collaborative seeks to transform a city that has remarkable inherent advantages in geography, higher education, and culture, but weaknesses in attachment, openness, economic strength, and overall sense of community. This collaborative combines:
- The reach and award-winning journalists of The Telegraph, Georgia Public Broadcasting, and 13WMAZ;
- The journalistic innovation resulting from Mercer’s undergraduate Journalism program taught by faculty with strong practical journalism experience who employ a curriculum featuring a medical school-like clinical component;
- The energy and ambitions of many student journalists attracted by the career advantages this program offers them; and
- A mission of steady engagement with community issues and how to resolve them. In past years, the collaboration has produced award-winning projects focused on the people of Macon, blight, pedestrian safety, and the re-segregation of public schools.
Mercer and its partners have created one of largest journalism/community projects in the country and a model for higher education/media collaborations in other cities.