Bowling Green, Ky. - A one-year, $100,000 grant from Knight Foundation will help Western Kentucky University partner with the National Press Photographers Association to create online tools to teach professionals, teachers, and students how to produce better photos.

The project will create an educational program, which will include online judging of the NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism contests.

"We consider this a perfect partnership – the top photojournalism program partnering with the top photojournalism contest,” said Dr. Pam McAllister Johnson, head of WKU’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting.

In the Hearst Intercollegiate Photojournalism contest, the collegiate equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, WKU has ranked first for 15 of the last 17 years. This year, Johnson was selected to serve on the contest committee.

The project’s goal is to improve the quality of news photos worldwide through educational tools. They include online judging of the Best of Photojournalism contest to help teachers guide students through the event; teaching modules created from contest winners; expanding photo archiving as a learning tool for professionals, teachers and students; and a roundtable to discuss ethics and First Amendment issues before the contest, then distributing the seminar online.

"We are excited about partnering with a prestigious national foundation to recognize some of the best photojournalists in the world,” said Tom Hiles, WKU’s vice president for Institutional Advancement. “Knight Foundation is a leader in support of journalism education, and we are very grateful for their trust and continued support.”

WKU President Gary Ransdell said the university is pleased with this additional gift from the Knight Foundation. “We appreciate the significance of the Knight Foundation’s continued support of our strong photojournalism program, and we look forward to this new partnership,” he said.

A leader among photo contests worldwide, the United States NPPA’s annual Best of Photojournalism competition attracts entries from still and television photojournalists, photo editors, and web editors from leading media around the world.

"This partnership is an example of how great professionals and great teaching institutions can work together for the benefit of the entire news community,” said Eric Newton, director of journalism initiatives for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities.

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For more information, contact Tom Hiles, (270) 745-6208, or Pam Johnson, (270) 745-4144.