BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Courier reporter Matt Milner is one of 10 journalists named by CNHI News Service as recipients of the wire service’s Elite Reporting Program fellowship.

Each Elite Reporter will spend four weeks on a CNHI News Service national reporting project that will provide multimedia packages for CNHI newspapers.

“Paring the applicants to our top 10 choices was challenging,” said CNHI Vice President of Editorial Brad Dennison, who made the announcement this week. “Journalists from across CNHI stepped up, and showed a lot of enthusiasm for the program. I think we found a great mix of talent, passion and vision in our final decision.”

“We're pleased and excited that Matt has been selected to be a part of this prestigious group of reporters,” Courier publisher Tom Hawley said. “He will be a good representative of all the talented people we have here in our newsroom.”

Other reporters named come from the Meadville (Pa.) Tribune; The Meridian (Miss.) Star; The Amherst (N.Y.) Record; The News Courier, Athens, Ala.; The Herald Tribune, Anderson, Ind.; Gloucester (Mass.) Daily Times; The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.; The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.; and Niagara (N.Y.) Gazette.

Veteran journalist and vice president of news at the (North Andover, Mass.) Eagle-Tribune, William Ketter, is leading the first project. Ketter led the Eagle-Tribune to a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news in 2003. CNHI News Service National Editor Tom Lindley, who has been an editor for The Pittsburgh Press, the (Birmingham, Ala.) Post-Herald and The Birmingham News, will lead upcoming projects, as will Deputy National Editor J.B. Blosser Bittner, a veteran journalist and former United Press International bureau manager in Oklahoma and Kansas.

After completing a four-week fellowship, Elite reporters will return to their CNHI newspaper with multimedia equipment and a commitment to share their experience and training with their newsrooms. They also will have access to a writing coach throughout the year and will receive a performance-based bonus. Editors of Elite reporters will be invited to a special summer training session in Birmingham, where top industry trainers will lead two days of workshops.

Milner said that he was excited about his selection.

“This is a major opportunity and a major challenge. The Elite Reporter program is designed to give reporters the tools they need and push them to see just how good they can be,” he said. “This is a chance for me to pick up new techniques and see how far I can take my skills.”

Milner joined The Courier in September 2002 after two years as editor of the Boonville Daily News. He was named editor in 2000 at age 23 and was at that time the youngest editor of a daily paper in Missouri. While in Boonville, Milner won several awards from the Missouri Press Association for writing and photography.

The Elite Reporter program is “a great opportunity for all CNHI reporters,” Courier Editor Judy Krieger said. “The second I told the staff about it, Matt jumped up saying ‘I want to apply.’ This is our Matt Milner (the intimidator) who is known for his stoicism, low-key manner and studied quietness.

“Matt can turn around a story quicker than anyone on the staff. Matt is the reporter you want for any story,” Krieger said. “He really wants to be part of this.”