EBINGER LEAVING ROLE WITH RTNDF RIAS PROGRAM
May 31, 2017
EBINGER LEAVING ROLE WITH RTNDF RIAS PROGRAM
Jon Ebinger, who has helped make the RIAS BERLIN COMMISSION program a success in both the United States and Germany, will be leaving his position as the point person for the RIAS BERLIN COMMISSION for the RTDNF, effective June 1. He will be succeeded by Laurie Bley and Annette Raveneau, two U.S.-based former RIAS BERLIN COMMISSION Fellows.
Ebinger, who was a RIAS Fellow himself in 2002 and worked as a producer at ABC’s “Nightline” for many years, has been the face of RIAS in the United States since 2005 and helped hundreds of American broadcast journalists gain valuable experience and knowledge about both the political world and how the media in Germany and Europe work.
“Jon has been doing an outstanding job creating insightful programs that have been rich in variety for hundreds of German broadcast journalists for more than a decade,” said Erik Kirschbaum, the executive director of RIAS BERLIN COMMISSION. “He’s given the German reporters not only an invaluable glimpse of the political and media workings of the United States but also gone to great lengths to make sure those journalists parachuting into the United States for three weeks get a chance to get to know ordinary Americans with unforgettable visits to soup kitchens to meet homeless people and high schools to meet incurably optimistic American teenagers.
For many German journalists on three-week fellowships to the United States, Ebinger has also designed presentation-filled program weeks in major Americans cities. He has represented RIAS at annual “Excellence in Journalism” (EIJ) conventions across the United States, led panels for RIAS in German cities, and in 2015 was awarded the distinguished “Col. Barney Oldfield Award” for exceptional service to the RTDNF.
“Jon has been a very strong proponent of the RIAS Berlin program from the start,” said Mike Cavender, Executive Director of RTDNA/F. “His diligence in insuring that our Fellows have the best possible experience during their time in Germany and the United States has helped make the Exchange one of the most popular and effective training programs we offer.”
Since 1994, RTDNF has administered this media fellowship as part of its German/American Journalist Exchange Program with the RIAS. For information on the RTDNF Germany fellowship or the RIAS Awards program, visit rtdna.org or contact Mike Cavender at mikec@rtdna.org or Erik Kirschbaum at kirschbaum@darkseagreen-dog-940501.hostingersite.com.
About RTDNF
RTDNF, a 501 (c) 3 educational foundation, was created to help RTDNA members embody and uphold the standards of ethical journalism and promote leadership in the newsroom. RTDNF offers the electronic news community professional development opportunities, an open forum for the discussion of ethics, assistance with the development of leadership skills, support of First Amendment issues and the exchange of ideas and perspectives from electronic journalists worldwide. The Foundation also provides scholarships and fellowships to aspiring and early-career electronic journalists.
About RIAS BERLIN COMMISSION
The RIAS BERLIN COMMISSION is a bi-national organization established in 1992 to promote understanding between the United States and Germany in the field of broadcasting. Each exchange program is fully financed by the RIAS BERLIN COMMISSION, a non-profit, non-governmental organization. There have been a total of 1,500 German and American broadcast journalists who have taken part in the exchange programs in the last 25 years.
