Budding journalists get tips on reporting and college admissions

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jimmy Breslin looked out at the roomful of aspiring reporters gathered in Wilcox Hall at Princeton University this summer and told them there was only one way to be a good reporter: Use your feet.

"There's no such thing as a good story on the first floor. It's always on the fourth or fifth floor," he said. "If you're going to use the phone, get a job at Verizon. Don't use the phone. Go and see them."

Breslin was addressing the high school seniors participating in The Daily Princetonian Class of 2001 Summer Journalism Program . Run by Princeton alumni who worked as journalists in college, the program is for students from urban, disadvantaged school districts who are traditionally underrepresented in the worlds of collegiate and professional journalism. They are invited to live at the University for 10 days and attend classes to learn about journalism and the college admissions process.

This year, 21 students who will be seniors this fall at public high schools in the Northeast and Chicago are participating. The free program, which is in its second year, is funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; the University provides housing and meals.

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Contact: Evelyn Tu/Jennifer Greenstein Altmann (609) 258-3601