Journalism Students Selected for National Reporting Program

Three U of A School of Journalism and Strategic Media students have received spots in the selective Dow Jones News Fund program, a record for the school. Keelin Fisher, Cooper Gant and Casey Mann were among 79 college students chosen out of more than 800 applicants for the training and paid summer internship program.

"This program prepares the best journalists in the country. Just six Southeastern Conference universities out of 16 are represented in the group, and we have more students than all but one," said Bret Schulte, director of the School of Journalism and Strategic Media.

Fisher, a senior journalism-political science major and Spanish minor from New Orleans, Louisiana, has been lifestyles editor of The Arkansas Traveler. She will study business reporting at American University in Washington, D.C., before starting an internship with the Albuquerque Journal. Fisher is part of the four-plus-one graduate program in School of Journalism and Strategic Media and will return to campus in the fall to finish her master's degree.

Gant, a senior journalism-political science major from Fort Worth, Texas, served as editor-in-chief of The Arkansas Traveler. This is his second year in the Dow Jones News program. He will study business reporting in New York and intern for Insurance Insider in New York City. After his internship, he will start a graduate school fellowship at the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Mann, a sophomore multimedia journalism-political science major from Pea Ridge, is the incoming managing editor of The Arkansas Traveler and a producer at KUAF. Mann, a member of the Honors College, will study data journalism at the University of Maryland with Rob Wells, a former U of A journalism professor, before returning to Arkansas to intern with The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in Little Rock.

"These standout reporters already have a proven track record of ethically reporting news. We are thankful that DJNF is investing in them," said Gina Shelton, internship coordinator in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media. 

The Razorbacks will join cohorts with students from Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Georgetown, NYU, UC-Berkeley, Syracuse, Northwestern and the University of Pennsylvania. 

The Dow Jones News Fund, based in Princeton, New Jersey, is a nonprofit foundation that promotes careers in journalism in the digital age. To be selected for Dow Jones News Fund, students are tested on editing skills, business reporting, current events and data abilities, among other things.

In announcing the 2026 selections, Eric Mandrackie, acting president of the Dow Jones News Fund, said, "We are grateful to once again collaborate with our dedicated news partners to equip these talented students with the cutting-edge skills and experience necessary to master modern digital journalism, innovative storytelling and critical audience engagement."

Last year the School of Journalism and Strategic Media had two students in the program: Gant, who interned for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and Sophia Nabours of Searcy, who interned for the Marshall Project in New York. This summer, Nabours has a fellowship with the Texas Tribune.

In 2024, one SJSM student was selected for the DJNF: Rachell Sanchez-Smith of Rogers. She now works at WBUR, the NPR affiliate in Boston.