$3M Gift Endows Local News Network Chair at Merrill College

A pair of University of Maryland supporters whose gift helped establish the Local News Network at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism has made a new $3 million gift to endow its director’s position.

The Klingenstein Family Endowed Chair in Journalism, established by the Andrew and Julie Klingenstein Family Fund, oversees the effort to aid news outlets throughout Maryland by teaming them with student reporters to create local news content. The chair is held by Jerry Zremski, the LNN’s inaugural director, who joined the Merrill faculty full-time in 2022.

"We are very proud to stand with Jerry and his team at Merrill in support of local journalism," Andy Klingenstein said.

The gift comes at a time when newsrooms nationwide are shrinking, and local journalism has been particularly hard-hit. A May 2024 survey by the Pew-Knight Initiative found that while the majority of Americans said local news outlets are at least somewhat important to their community, only 15% have paid for local news in the past year.

“Julie and Andy Klingenstein recognized years ago that democracy starts in town halls, school board meetings and other places where people come together to govern themselves,” Merrill College Dean Rafael Lorente said. “Their generous gift guarantees that Merrill College will always have a faculty member dedicated to teaching the next generation of local journalists while at the same time serving the people of Maryland. We could not be more grateful.”

Zremski is an award-winning journalist who was the Washington bureau chief for The Buffalo News from 2007-22 and a reporter for the publication since 1984. Under his leadership, LNN has produced multiple projects, including county-by-county school board election voter guides, an examination of the lack of child care opportunities in the state and an in-depth look at the education reform legislation passed by the state government. It also conducted the inaugural Maryland Local News Ecosystem Study in 2024 that showed which parts of the state are most and least covered by news organizations.

The Local News Network offers an internship program that provides stipends to several students each summer to intern at a local news outlet. Students typically pursue those internships after their sophomore or junior year. The stipends cover living expenses and summer tuition credits.

Julie Klingenstein, a 1980 University of Maryland graduate and a former trustee of the College Park Foundation, is active in structured-literacy efforts and served as a longtime literacy volunteer for District of Columbia Public Schools.

Andy Klingenstein had been an early-stage investor for many years and previously practiced law. He now devotes most of his time to family philanthropies based in New York City (with interests in scientific research, mental health and early childhood development) and to the foundation he manages with Julie.

As residents of Washington, D.C., the Klingensteins focus their personal philanthropy on D.C. public education, promoting the health of low-income infants and mothers, and supporting robust journalism.