Seven distinguished arts journalists have been selected as 2004 fellows of the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program.

Funded by a grant from the J. Paul Getty Trust, the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Fellowship program, now in its third year, seeks to improve the quality of arts journalism by bringing mid-career journalists to Los Angeles for three intensive weeks with established and emerging artists and heads of cultural institutions from several disciplines.

The fellows for 2004 are:

� Juan Rodriguez Flores, La Opinión (Los Angeles). Cultural writer and film critic.

� Kathy Janich, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Arts writer.

� Kim Levin, The Village Voice (New York). Art critic.

� Kyle Macmillan, The Denver Post. Critic-at-large.

� Laszlo Molnar, Salzburger Nachrichten (Austria). Vienna-based music critic and editor.

� Olufunke Moses, The Independent Weekly, (Durham, N.C.). Arts editor.

� Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly. Film critic, book reviewer and political commentator.

The level of accomplishment shown by the candidates for the fellowship and their expressed desire for vigorous, challenging, professional debate affirms the need for such a program, according to Sasha Anawalt, founding director of the USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program.

“The 2004 fellows approach the arts from different points of view, but each has tasted what it is like to influence their readership strongly,” Anawalt said. “Each questions the media’s power and asks how the arts writer and editor can play an increasingly more significant, positive role.”

The fellows were chosen from an international pool of approximately 100 applicants from eight foreign countries and the United States.

A veteran arts journalist, Anawalt is the author of the cultural biography “The Joffrey Ballet: Robert Joffrey and the Making of an American Dance Company.” She is also a contributor to the Los Angeles Times.

John Rockwell, author and New York Times senior cultural correspondent and arts columnist, will serve as speaker-in-residence for the 2004 USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Program.

This year’s program begins March 7. The scheduled activities during the USC Annenberg Getty/Arts Journalism Program are designed to bring the fellows into direct contact with eminent artists and arts professionals in Los Angeles.

The J. Paul Getty Trust is an international cultural and philanthropic organization devoted to the visual arts that features the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Conservation Institute and the Getty Grant Program.

Contact Geoffrey Baum at (213) 821-1491.