ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Poynter’s e-learning project, News University, today announced that The Seattle Times Co. will integrate NewsU’s Certificate of Proficiency Program into The Times’ online community news partnership. Poynter NewsU will provide its certificates of proficiency and other online training on its e-learning site, www.newsu.org, as part of its partnership with The Times.

The Poynter NewsU Certificate Program is designed to help editors, publishers and educators assess a participant’s understanding of the journalism industry’s essential skills and best practices.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. ––The South Carolina Broadcasters Association (SCBA) will devote $4,000 to help its members get journalism training at The Poynter Institute in 2011. “This is a real show of leadership at a time when journalists need the help,” said Stephen Buckley, Poynter’s dean of the faculty. “SCBA members who have come to Poynter in recent years tell us that they could never gotten training without SCBA’s financial help.”

Al Tompkins, Poynter’s senior faculty for broadcast and online, said, “I wish other state broadcast and press associations would take notice.

St. Augustine Underground quoted Poynter’s Kelly McBride, Ethics Senior Faculty, in a story about The Record’s policy of withholding potentially damaging stories about a candidate within ten days of an election. Read the story here.

Al Tompkins, Poynter’s senior faculty for broadcast & online, is quoted in “Media expert sees Joyce Kaufman pick unusual, may lead to public insights” on SunSentinel.com in a story about picking a radio talk show host as his chief of staff. Read it here.