MCC Daily Tribune
SUNY Chancellor King Launches Inaugural Journalism Internship Program for Students Statewide
Institute for Local News at SUNY Places Student Reporters in Newsrooms at 15 Media Outlets
Albany, NY – State University of New York Chancellor John B. King Jr. announced the inaugural class from the Institute for Local News at SUNY, including 20 students across the state who are spending their summer reporting from 15 media outlets on Friday. Funded in part by the Lumina Foundation, and in partnership with the Center for Community News at University of Vermont, the institute is the first-of-its-kind statewide program to address news deserts with stories written by college students.
The initiative is part of SUNY’s ambitious goal to provide every undergraduate student with an internship or other experiential learning opportunity by the time they graduate.
"SUNY is committed to providing our students with internships so they can explore career paths and gain real-world experience in their chosen field. Journalism is a great service to our communities by providing information and advancing discourse on topics that matter to the public, which is why we are excited to launch these inaugural paid internship opportunities for SUNY students,” said SUNY Chancellor King. “SUNY’s Institute for Local News gives students experience in this noble profession while supporting media outlets in need of reporters across our state, and we are grateful for the partnership of the Lumina Foundation, the Center for Community News at University of Vermont, and Empire State Development for making this vital collaboration happen.”
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, “A free and robust press is part of the very fabric of our state and nation. SUNY is proud to help facilitate this innovative program that embeds student journalists in newsrooms throughout New York so that they can learn on-the-job and can help contribute to ensuring we have a more informed and engaged public. We thank state leaders, especially Governor Hochul, as well as partner newsrooms, for helping ensure this program is able to succeed.”
Director of the Center for Community News Richard Watts said, “Congratulations to SUNYILN for building the first university led statewide student reporting network in the country. The number of students involved, media partners, and published stories are a testament to SUNY’s leading role as a transformative public university. These high impact learning experiences are good for students and good for local news.”
State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee said, “The launch of the inaugural class of the Institute for Local News at SUNY highlights their commitment to offering real-world experiences that prepares students for successful careers. Working on my college newspaper, The Syracuse Daily Orange, taught me invaluable skills that continue to serve me today. I know firsthand how rewarding and formative this experience will be for all involved.”
State Senator Peter Oberacker said, “Congratulations to SUNY Oneonta students Lara Murray-Sterzel and Grace Tran on this well-earned recognition. Their selection for the inaugural Journalism Internship Program is more than a personal achievement. It represents something much bigger. I'm proud to support SUNY's investment in talented local students and helping to give them the tools to succeed right here in our communities. By supporting programs like this, we are not only educating future leaders but also keeping their talents local and building a stronger, brighter future.”
State Senator Michelle Hinchey said, “Strong local journalism is fundamental to ensuring our communities have access to timely and accurate information about the issues that shape our daily lives. SUNY’s Journalism Internship Program is at the forefront of growing our local news networks and protecting a free and independent press by preparing the next generation to carry this work forward. I’m proud to champion state investments that help SUNY create incredible opportunities like this, and it’s great to see students at SUNY New Paltz directly benefiting.”
State Senator Sean M. Ryan said, “A well-functioning society relies in part on a robust media apparatus, and local news is a foundational component of that apparatus. Ensuring communities across the state have quality local journalists that they can count on to report the news and hold people in power accountable is paramount to preserving our democracy. I applaud SUNY for recognizing the importance of New York's local news outlets and identifying the role our public universities can play in creating a pipeline of young reporters who are prepared to take on this responsibility for the public good."
State Senator Anthony Palumbo said, “Journalism is a pillar of a free society and provides important information to citizens on a host of issues including government, business, and local events. By investing in journalism, SUNY is helping to strengthen our state and nation and equip the next generation of journalists with the skills and tools they will need to ask the right questions and get to the bottom of complex issues for the readers and communities they will one day serve."
State Assemblymember Alicia Hyndman, Chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee said, “Strong communities need strong local news, and I’m proud to see SUNY stepping up to support both. The Institute for Local News is a smart, meaningful investment—not just in our students, but in the neighborhoods they serve. By giving students real-world experience while helping to close gaps in local reporting, this program strengthens our communities and supports the future of journalism in New York.”
State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said, “Journalism works at the behest of the public and functions, partly, as an accountability check on power. Over the last 10-15 years we have seen many local, independent news organizations fold, and even larger entities make significant cutbacks to staffing. I applaud this effort by SUNY and its partners to offer a paid internship program that gets students involved in the news gathering and reporting business and also addressing news deserts in pockets across the state.”
State Assemblymember Donna Lupardo said, “The freedom of the press as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights, is something we need to nurture and protect for a functioning democracy to endure. I’d like to thank Press Forward for their commitment to strengthening communities by supporting local journalism, and to SUNY for establishing an Institute for Local News. At a time when journalism is at risk, we can all benefit from the efforts made by the college students participating in this exciting internship.”
State Assemblymember Brian Miller said, “I am proud to congratulate Lara Murray-Sterzel and Grace Tran from SUNY Oneonta for earning a place in the inaugural Institute for Local News internship program. This is a tremendous achievement that speaks to their talent, dedication, and passion for journalism. This innovative initiative gives students invaluable hands-on experience in professional newsrooms, and I commend SUNY for its commitment to providing experiential learning opportunities for our students. I wish all of this year’s interns great success.”
State Assemblymember Stephen Hawley said, “I’m proud to see the launch of SUNY’s one-of-a-kind journalism internship program. This initiative will not only teach our young people about the ins and outs of this growing career field but also give them valuable, real-world experience they will take with them well after this program is finished. I’m grateful to see this investment in the lives of our college students, and I applaud SUNY for its continued mission of educating the next generation of New Yorkers.”
State Assemblymember Charles D. Lavine said, “This wonderful program gives students the hands-on experience necessary to pursue their goal of one day becoming a working media professional while at the same time earning money. I commend Chancellor King for his continued efforts to expand what SUNY can offer so we can keep smart, talented young people right here in New York for their educational needs and potentially for their career as well.”
State Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera said, “Democracy only works with an informed electorate. Misinformation, the inability to accurately separate fact from fiction, and a lack of readily-accessible, fact-based news sources represent perhaps the single greatest threat we’ve faced to free and fair elections. Now more than ever, it’s important that we invest in the next generation of journalists, reporters, and editors who will enter newsrooms equipped with the tools needed to provide fact-based reportage in the digital age. The Institute for Local News at SUNY program will not only place budding journalists into bustling newsrooms and further SUNY’s great track record of getting students real-world experience, it will help alleviate ‘news deserts’ and will inform communities that do not have ready access to accurate reports.”
State Assemblymember Rebecca Kassay said, “As the Assembly representative of SUNY Stony Brook and as a SUNY alumna, I’m proud of SUNY’s commitment to fostering the next generation of journalists through this innovative internship program empowering students to provide increased news coverage through local media outlets. In my visits and interactions with Stony Brook University and its students, I have seen firsthand the work and passion that pours into and out of their journalism program, producing talented, thoughtful storytellers who are dedicated to shining a light on local, national, and global issues. This initiative provides invaluable hands-on experience for students and strengthens our communities by addressing critical news gaps. Supporting these young reporters is an investment in both their futures and the vitality of our local press and the integrity of our news at large.”
Assemblymember Gabriella A. Romero said, “I’m thrilled to see the Institute for Local News at SUNY initiative come to life. As the first statewide program of its kind, it tackles the growing issue of news deserts by empowering journalism students to tell the stories that matter in underserved communities. This groundbreaking experience not only enriches student learning, but also delivers vital news coverage to areas lacking consistent access to reliable information. Congratulations to the two University at Albany students selected to take part in this important work!”
The summer journalism interns will be earning nearly $5,000 as they work for 10 weeks in media roles, including print, digital, broadcast, photo, video, and production. The internship program was launched with students participating in a 3-day training session on Governors Island in New York City, where SUNY’s Stony Brook University is anchoring the development of the Climate Exchange, including a $700 million climate resilience campus. SUNY funded the internships with support from the Empire State Development.
The inaugural class of summer student reporters includes:
University at Albany
- Cal Martin, Spotlight News
- J.T. Stone, Albany Times Union
Binghamton University
- Ella Connors, Straus News
SUNY Brockport
- Erin Jones, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
- Lucy Crounse, Albany Times Union
University at Buffalo
- Rodrigo Feijao, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle
- Nadia Bangaroo, Buffalo Toronto Public Media
Buffalo State University
- Lindsay DePietro, Buffalo Hive
SUNY New Paltz
- Mia Altamuro, Hudson Valley One
- Dylan Murphy, Newsday
- Mia Quick, The Overlook
- Jamie Case, Radio Catskill
SUNY Old Westbury
- Alexia Croll, Long Island Herald
SUNY Oneonta
- Lara Murray-Sterzel, Newsday
- Grace Tran, Capital Region Independent Media
Stony Brook University
- Viyang Hao, Newsday
- Michelle Grisales, Journal News
- George Caratzas, Journal News
- Tyler Rieger, Long Island Advance
- Lucrecia "Sumaq" Urrutia, Ridgewood Times
About The State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.16 billion in fiscal year 2024, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit the SUNY website (www.suny.edu).
Veronica Chiesi Brown
Community Relations
07/14/2025