Our community includes undergrads, graduate students, and recent grads from 200+ colleges and universities throughout the New York area and an increasing number of schools nationwide. Our students are talented, motivated, and creative young people who are passionate about media.

The Center’s dynamic program series — panels, screenings, career summits, on-location site visits, and Q&As — cover all aspects and fields of media, including journalism, television production, documentary and feature filmmaking, gaming, media management, music, digital media, book publishing, advertising, research and analytics, PR and marketing, First Amendment issues, ethics and standards.

We partner with the world’s largest media companies, all of whom share our commitment to build a more equitable and representative industry. We are a critical resource for our partners’ talent acquisition efforts and DEI initiatives.

Our annual career summits are signature programs with immersive agendas of inspirational keynotes, informative panels, skill-building workshops, and recruiter networking sessions. For our industry partners, the Summits connect hiring teams to the diverse, talented candidates they seek.

The Center for Communication is an independent nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status.

Our Founder

Dr. Frank Stanton was an American broadcasting pioneer who served as the president of CBS between 1946 and 1971 and then as vice chairman until 1973. Stanton was revered for his defense of the First Amendment before Congress, for organizing the first televised presidential debate in American history, and for his passionate support of broadcast journalism
and journalists.

When Dr. Stanton founded the Center in 1980, he saw the need to bridge the gap between academia and the media industry. He envisioned a forum — a 'center without walls' — where pressing issues could be explored between students, professors, and practitioners. 

He sought to create intergenerational dialogue, with an emphasis on students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. He believed that such an exchange was as beneficial for current professionals as it was for the next generation of students entering the field.

Over our 40-year history the Center’s programs have evolved to meet the changing needs of our community and the industry. We help diversify the media ecosystem by building a strong, inclusive pipeline of young professionals. This is now central to our mission.

The Center presents a Frank Stanton Award for Excellence in Communication annually to individuals who exemplify achievement and excellence in any genre of mass communication.