The Media Giraffe Project

Study innovation in new and mainstream media; help launch the New England News Council.

Are you trying to figure out where you’re going to fit in the media landscape of the future? Want to help start a high-profile new institution serving New England news organizations and the public?

One or two exceptional Williams College students with a strong interest in a media or journalism career are sought by the nationwide The Media Giraffe Project to help find and spotlight individuals making innovative “above-the-crowd” use of media to foster participatory democracy and community and to work on the formation of the New England News Council as part of a $75,000 Knight Foundation initiative. The projects may involve web-based research, reporting, writing in collaboration with an experienced editor, and some contact with New England news professionals.

The Media Giraffe Project is a three-year initiative of the journalism program at UMass Amherst with an office in Williamstown as well as Amherst. More than 300 people attended our June 28 – July 1 conference: “Democracy & Independence: Sharing News & Information in a Connected World.”

This fall, we are working under a Knight Foundation grant to form the New England News Council. We’re looking at cutting-edge efforts on the web and tradition media. To learn more, read this full description of the project’s mission.

The director/editor of the Media Giraffe Project is Bill Densmore. The principal investigator is Prof. Norman Sims of the journalism program at UMass. Research can be done anywhere the intern has appropriate access to the Internet, a printer, and a phone. To inquire or apply, contact:

Bill Densmore, Director/Editor
Media Giraffe Project
75 Water Street
Williamstown, MA 01267
413-458-8001
e-mail the Media Giraffe Project