About

ABOUT THE INSTITUTE

The Fresno State Institute for Media and Public Trust was founded in 2018 by Jim Boren. The institute works to create and share informative and engaging content for news consumers.

The distrust of media and most other major institutions, has many negative consequences in society, including a lack of civic engagement in democracy. The institute works to hold conversations about and seek ways to resolve these problems. In doing so, the institute brings in all sides on these complex issues, and finds solutions by doing deep-dive research into what is driving the divisiveness and making recommendations.

The institute’s work is guided by the First Amendment. It is undoubtable that a well-informed citizenry will improve civic engagement and participation in democracy.

We welcome everyone’s participation, and believe that the more partners we have, the stronger our work will be.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Following his role as executive editor and senior vice president at The Fresno Bee, institute director Jim Boren joined the Department of Media, Communications and Journalism as an adjunct faculty member at Fresno State.

As a Fresno State alumni himself, Boren’s career has come full circle as he now teaches upper-division writing to future journalism students. Boren has had the rare distinction of working at the same newspaper for 48 years. First hired at 19 years old in 1969, Boren has received numerous industry awards and accolades both individually and for leading The Fresno Bee. Boren’s career also includes serving on the juries of the Pulitzer Prizes in 2016 and 2017 at Columbia University.

Boren continues to dedicate his experience and knowledge to the future generations of journalists. “I’m proud of the media work we are doing at Fresno State, from creating the Media Institute, being a leader on media literacy in California and establishing our students of color journalism training program that has a goal of diversifying Fresno-area newsrooms.”