The CUNY School of Journalism, which oversees the Center for Community & Ethnic Media (CCEM), announced a $1 million grant aimed at offering continuing education workshops to the city’s trove of journalists covering community news with scant resources.

The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) made the announcement at the school’s offices in midtown Manhattan. The office’s commissioner, Julie Menin, announced the award aimed at creating multimedia-based classes that can help “stay ahead of the changes.” CUNY School of Journalism dean Sarah Bartlett, joining Menin, called the grant a “dream come true.”

Menin was also joined by CCEM’s co-director, Jehangir Khattak, and Rong Xiaoqing, a reporter for the Sing Tao Daily, a Chinese language newspaper and CCEM member.

Details on the workshops are still being hammered out, though Khattak said some courses will likely focus on video production, social media engagement, podcasting, and broadcast skills training. Training sessions are expected to happen sometime in the fall with CCEM staffers reaching out to editors of community and ethnic press for input.

The Norwood News is a familiar paper at the CUNY J School, having been recognized by the journalism school with several Ippies Awards. The annual awards are given to community and ethnic media outlets.