The Center for Sustainable Journalism at Kennesaw State University will begin publishing Youth Today, the nationally distributed newspaper that is read online and in print by thousands of professionals in the youth services field.
“Having Youth Today housed at Kennesaw State University is a perfect fit,” said Ken Harmon, KSU provost. “We have undergraduate and advanced degree programs in compatible areas, including journalism, social work, criminology, conflict management, educational leadership and other health and human sciences, all of which can provide best practice training and research to advance the Youth Today mission.”
Leonard Witt, executive director of the Center for Sustainable Journalism, said the addition of Youth Today to the center’s publishing portfolio is an excellent extension of the work it does.
“We now publish the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, JJIE.org, the only entity to cover juvenile justice every day with professional journalists, so this is a natural addition to the work we do,” Witt said. “We will be able to get Youth Today back to its full potential, while expanding the JJIE.org reach at the same time.”
Financial challenges almost led to the demise of the subscription-based newspaper that covers a wide range of issues including juvenile justice, foster care, mentoring, substance abuse, sexual behavior, after school programs, mentoring, youth employment, child welfare, college and careers, gangs, violence prevention, adolescent health, teen pregnancy and parenting.
Youth Today was founded in 1984 and features in-depth articles on issues and events of major importance to professionals who work with America’s youth. Winner of several journalism awards, Youth Today also provides insightful commentary that readers rely on to improve their organizations’ operations and functions.
"The board has been working hard to deal with the organization's financial challenges and to ensure the survival of Youth Today,” said Brant Houston, board chair of the American Youth Work Center, which is Youth Today’s umbrella organization. “We are pleased that Leonard Witt and Kennesaw State have agreed to produce Youth Today and we are confident that under their stewardship the publication will be a success.”
John Fleming, JJIE.org editor, who now will provide editorial leadership for both publications, says, “Our children are our country’s most treasured resource. The people who serve them must have a trusted source of high quality information, which has been the hallmark of Youth Today. Now that legacy will go forward into the future with an added dose of investigative reporting.”
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The Center for Sustainable Journalism at Kennesaw State University has one central mission: to ensure that high quality, ethically sound journalism continues to have a vibrant place in our democracy. The Center produces research and nurtures innovative ideas, incubates new projects and launches applications all in a financially sustainable atmosphere, while forming partnerships with entrepreneurial-minded individuals, media companies and academic institutions. In addition to publishing its centerpiece project, the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, JJIE.org, it produces conferences and training both online and face to face. Its founding was made possible in part by a generous gift from the Harnisch Foundation, under the supervision of Ruth Ann Harnisch.
Kennesaw State University is the third-largest university in Georgia, offering 80 graduate and undergraduate degrees, including doctorates in education, business and nursing, and a new Ph.D. in international conflict management. A member of the 35-unit University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State is a comprehensive, residential institution with a growing population of 24,100 students from more than 130 countries.