12 Journalism Students to Help Report at the 2009 China Open in Beijing

Fritz Cropp Strategic Communication Faculty Carolina Escudero International Programs Staff   Cheryl Smith International Programs Staff John Wilkerson International Programs Staff Ernest Zhang International Programs Staff

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Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour CCTV Channel 5 China Open Renmin University Women's Tennis Association Tour

Columbia, Mo. (Aug. 11, 2009) -- Twelve Missouri School of Journalism students will have the opportunity to help develop stories about the best tennis athletes in the world at the 2009 China Open.

2009 China Open Logo and Mascot

The student volunteers, who will be in Beijing, China, from Sept. 26 to Oct. 12, will interview professional tennis athletes from either the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) or Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Their stories will be published in the Beijing Youth Daily, which circulates 600,000 papers in Beijing alone. Students also will provide stories for CCTV Channel 5, the country's live sports channel, and the China Open Web site.

The 2009 China Open is a premier tennis event that will be broadcast to an estimated 1.2 billion viewers worldwide, and approximately 300,000 spectators and prominent international media companies will be on hand. The Open will take place in the same tennis venue of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, a structure which some have said resembles a blossoming lotus flower. The event comprises two tournaments: WTA Crown-Jewel Events and ATP 500 series. Beijing outbid Dubai, Tokyo and Bangkok to hold the Open.

"Sending Missouri School of Journalism students to work at the 2009 China Open is another example of the value we place on experiential learning," said Fritz Cropp, director of international programs. "These students will be working closely with culturally diverse players in a setting well outside the comforts of mid-America. Experiences such as these challenge our students to explore their field, to think creatively, develop new perspectives and take risks. Each of these tenets are at the heart of our mission to create extraordinary, global-engaged journalists."

Ernest Zhang, the School's China program coordinator, will work with Cropp and the Open's officials on finalizing the students' working assignments and other arrangements.

Last year, nearly 60 of the School's students worked as media interns at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games where they interviewed athletes and filed stories on gymnastics, tennis, archery, triathlon, handball and field hockey events. The volunteers spent two months living in Beijing's distinguished Renmin University preparing for the Olympics as they networked with media professionals across the globe.

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