Application Window Open for Carole Kneeland Project Spring Conference

The application window is open for the Carole Kneeland Project's Spring 2026 conference which will be held at the TAB offices in Austin, April 15-18, 2026.

Eighteen television newsroom managers from around the country will be selected from the applicant pool to experience a rigorous, three-day seminar on news ethics, newsroom culture, decision-making, management, and leadership to assure excellence in local television journalism.

This training is the core focus of The Kneeland Project which is constantly evolving to address the dynamic and changing media landscape, while retaining the values, ethics, and fundamentals taught by Carole Kneeland, TAB's 1997 Broadcaster of the Year.

Kneeland died in January of 1998 after an eight-year battle with cancer.

At the time, she was Vice-President of News at Austin's KVUE-TV and garnered a national reputation for newsroom excellence through a lengthy career first as reporter and then as news director.

Kneeland revolutionized the way stories were told and how newsrooms were led.

The lessons she imparted are timeless - be fair, accurate, ethical, and balanced.

Her family, friends, and colleagues believed in what she stood for and vowed to carry on her legacy through the work of The Kneeland Project.

The late Ann Arnold, TAB's president until her passing in 2012, and Michael Schneider, TAB's V.P. for Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, were both part of the Kneeland Project's creation in 1998.

Schneider continues to serve on the Kneeland board of directors.

In its nearly 30-year history, the 501(c)(3) charitable and educational organization serving television journalism has been funded thanks to grants from broadcast corporations, journalism-related foundations, and donations from individuals including many from past Kneeland Fellows.

Tax-deductible contributions to The Kneeland Project can be made here.

Other than travel and some meals, most of the conference expenses for a Kneeland Fellow are covered by the Kneeland Project, including the cost of training.

More than 900 television journalists representing more than 150 television markets in all 50 states, primarily current news directors, have become Kneeland Fellows.

Their presence and desire to "raise the bar" for local television journalism is felt in media markets around the country, large and small, including those in Texas.

More than a third of the current television news directors in Texas are Kneeland Fellows.

Several Kneeland Fellows have gone on to lead stations as Texas general managers or elsewhere or are part of corporate broadcast news management based in Texas.

The Kneeland Project is providing real-world, hands-on leadership training to the people on the front lines of local news.

It has changed lives and continues to improve the quality of local newsgathering, one journalist at a time.

Questions? Contact TAB's Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944.