Future journalists at Mercer University have a new place to learn the tricks of the trade.
The Telegraph moved their offices Wednesday to the Center for Collaborative Journalism at Mercer Village. Now, students can get classroom and real newsroom experience all under one roof.
The program's director, Tim Regan-Porter, says he wants to mimic the education style of a teaching hospital.
He says, "We will pair students with journalists, let them observe what's happening, have them do research and fact-checking and all of the preparatory skills, and then eventually they'll get to do their own stories."
On the other side of the building, students can build their radio skills working with the local NPR affiliate.
"By the time they graduate," says Regan-Porter, "they will have the full range, hopefully, of what a journalist does and will have some clips to show for it."
When they aren't buzzing around The Telegraph's newsroom, students will be in lecture rooms down the hall. Those rooms will have computers for students to create their own works as well as to learn newsgathering and editing software.
Regan-Porter says, "There's a lot of talk right now, nationally, about the teaching hospital model for journalism, and we're one of the first to really go in-depth on that."
Just like an aspiring doctor, the Mercer students will rotate through different positions to find their specialty, including politics, sports, writing, and editing.
The program kicks off with its first session Monday. Regan-Porter says any Mercer student interested in journalism is welcome to join.