Cuprisin fund to support journalism internships
The MPC Endowment is pleased to announce that its Tim Cuprisin memorial fund will be dedicated to funding college student internships with the Milwaukee Press Club.
Press Club interns assist the club’s executive director and earn a stipend while gaining hands-on experience and networking opportunities within the journalism community. The independent, philanthropic affiliate of the Press Club, the Endowment has long funded the internship as part of its mission to advance excellence in journalism. The Tim Cuprisin fund will sustain that support.
“No one got more excited about chasing a good story than Tim Cuprisin. His childlike enthusiasm helped him relate to the many interns who worked in our newsroom each year,” said Meg Kissinger, a former colleague and close friend of Cuprisin. “Tim cherished his role as a mentor to these budding journalists. So, it’s only fitting that this fund in his name would help make internships possible. I’m so grateful for the chance to keep his memory alive through the work of these young people.”
Cuprisin, who died in 2011 at the age of 53, was best known as a media critic at The Milwaukee Journal, the Journal Sentinel and OnMilwaukee. In 2019, Cuprisin was inducted in the Press Club’s Media Hall of Fame.
“On behalf of the Milwaukee Press Club, I extend our sincere gratitude to the MPC Endowment and the Tim Cuprisin Memorial Fund for supporting our interns and the future of journalism,” said Maryann Lazarski, MPC president. “Paying for college these days isn’t easy and we hope this helps ease that burden a bit. I think Tim would give this announcement rave reviews.”
A report by Lexi S. Brunson, editor-in-chief of CopyWrite magazine, examined the impact of the first 50 years of the Endowment and noted that paid internships benefit journalism students by providing them with financial support, experience and professional connections.
Brunson’s independent report was underwritten by the Journal Foundation, which also recently contributed to the Endowment’s Solomon Juneau campaign, including $40,000 earmarked for journalism internships. The Endowment hopes to expand its investment in internships. It also funds an internship for the Wisconsin Journalism Education Association and has in the past provided paid newsroom internships associated with Marquette University’s Urban Journalism Workshop.
The Solomon Juneau campaign is the Endowment’s first fundraising effort since it began in 1973.
For more information on the Endowment and how to donate, please go to MPCEndowment.org.
The MPC Endowment Ltd. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.