Eight distinguished mid-career arts journalists have been selected as Fellows for the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program.

With support from the Getty Foundation, the program, now in its seventh year, seeks to establish a new standard of excellence in arts and culture coverage. The Fellowship’s philosophy is guided by a core belief in the importance of first-hand encounters with artists and journalism colleagues. The three-week program begins Nov. 1.

The principal topics of this year’s Fellowship will be the current state of national and international journalism, the opportunities and ethical challenges presented by the digital media era, and the specialized arts and culture journalist’s role within these contexts.

The Fellows for 2008 are:

• DAVID BRINN, The Jerusalem Post, deputy managing editor, columnist, and reporter. His essay, “Rays of Light from the Man in Black” was published in the book, Ring of Fire, The Johnny Cash Reader (Da Capo, 2002). A veteran of the Israel Defense Forces, he was the founding editorial director of web-based ISRAEL21c, designed to inform Americans about the Israel that exists beyond the conflict.
• LAURA EMERICK, Chicago Sun-Times, arts editor. Responsible for editing the paper’s weekly movies section and overseeing the Sun-Times’ classical music coverage – often writing on opera herself -- she is also the primary editor of nationally syndicated film critic Roger Ebert. In 1997, she launched one of the first beats covering Latin music in an English-language newspaper.
• NATE CHINEN, The New York Times, freelance music critic and JazzTimes columnist. As a regular contributor to the Times, he produces original material for its website, podcast and blog to supplement his print pieces. Chinen co-authored the award-winning book, Myself Among Others: A Life in Music (Da Capo, 2003). His former outlets include American Public Media and Village Voice.
• CAROLINA MIRANDA, C-Monster.net, producer, writer and editor for the visual arts and architecture blog. As a general assignment reporter for the print and online editions of Time until 2007, Miranda produced innovative cultural features on skate-park design, street art and DNA tests. Her features for print appear in O, The Oprah Magazine, Travel + Leisure and Food +Wine.
• ERIK PIEPENBURG, NYTimes.com, senior web producer for The New York Times. He is responsible for developing and reporting theater-related multimedia features, including audio slide shows, photo essays and audio interviews. His publication history includes theater criticism for Time Out New York, Chicago Reader and Windy City Times, in addition to features for The New York Times.
• MICHELE SIEGEL, Public Radio International and WNYC Radio’s “Studio 360,” associate producer. She’s been a staff member at the weekly arts and culture show with host Kurt Andersen since its launch in 2000. Siegel assigns, writes and edits features, as well as reports firsthand on stories. She is an “Audio Doctor” for the 2008 Third Coast International Audio Festival.
• DAVID SILLITO, British Broadcasting Corporation News, London, arts and culture correspondent. A general reporter from 1989 to 1998, Sillito has reported for last ten years on all aspects of arts, entertainment, media and social and cultural change for main national and international outlets on BBC Television. Although television is his principal medium, he also regularly provides arts coverage for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Online.
• ADELINE SIRE, “The World,” producer. With a background in classical music, French-born Sire produces stories on the arts, film, music and current affairs for the daily news radio program, “The World,” (a co-production of the BBC, PRI and WGBH) in Boston. She has written for Early Music America, produced independent radio features, and a documentary for the classical record label Deutsche Grammophon. 

“These Fellows are conversant in multimedia platform use. They practice journalism with engaged imaginations, common sense and ample gumption,” said Sasha Anawalt, director of the USC Annenberg/Getty Fellowship. “At mid-career, they strive to be instrumental in realigning the media’s role with the value society places on arts, entertainment and culture. Their potential to hatch a meaningful collaboration that further reinvents arts journalism and makes a bang is thrilling to contemplate.”

Plans for the three weeks in Southern California (subject to change) include conversations with artists Peter Sellars and Ry Cooder, architects Thom Mayne and Michael Maltzan, museum directors Ann Philbin and Michael Brand, journalists Douglas McLennan and Jeff Weinstein, critics Mark Swed, Ann Powers, and Jonathan Gold, among others. A night in the desert encountering composer Lou Harrison’s music and life is scheduled, as is a performance of “Kafka Fragments” conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Events designed for the Fellowship range from performance artist Tim Miller on gay marriage to author Irene Borger’s “Not Knowing” workshop, from going behind-the-scenes at the Getty Center to Bhangra dancing in the Valley.

The 2008 USC Annenberg/Getty Fellows were selected from an international pool of nearly 120 applicants from 21 American states and 30 foreign countries by a committee of arts journalists and journalism school directors.

The Getty Foundation provides support to individuals and institutions committed to advancing the understanding and preservation of the visual arts locally and throughout the world. Through strategic grants and programs, the Los Angeles-based Foundation strengthens art history as a global discipline, increases access to collections, promotes the interdisciplinary practice of conservation, and develops current and future leaders in the visual arts. The Foundation fulfills the philanthropic mission of the J. Paul Getty Trust, an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts. Additional information is available at www.getty.edu/foundation.