NBCUniversal launches NBCU Academy, a journalism training program across the U.S.

Comcast‘s NBCUniversal News Group on Thursday announced NBCU Academy, a journalism training and development program that’s set to partner with 17 academic institutions across the U.S.

The NBCU Academy launch comes about half a year after Comcast committed to spending $100 million over three years to help combat racism and injustice, following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

“NBCU Academy is part of that pledge and focuses on providing tools, resources, and platforms for young, underrepresented voices,” the company said in a statement. The group of schools include historically Black colleges and universities, known as HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, and colleges with significant Latino, Asian, Black, Indigenous and tribal populations.

The company said NBCU Academy will invest $6.5 million toward the initiative, which includes $3.5 million in scholarships over the next two years. The program will provide on-campus training and online programming, including guest lectures with NBCU News Group journalists, executives and management.

Many large tech companies announced hefty donations to support racial equality over the summer. On Wednesday, Apple announced its latest set of major donations as part of its $100 million initiative to help promote racial equality for people of color.

Disclosure: Comcast is the owner of NBCUniversal, parent company of CNBC.

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