Recipients include two Daniel Pearl Fellows from Pakistan who will spend time at leading Jewish publications in U.S.

Washington, D.C. - The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) announced on September 17 the 2008 participants in the International Journalism Exchange. The eight leading editors from seven countries will spend time at U.S. publications such as the Los Angeles Times, the Christian Science Monitor and the Rocky Mountain News, among others.

Administered by ICFJ, this year's program is sponsored by Hearst Corporation, Daniel Pearl Foundation, Scripps Howard Foundation, World Editors Forum, and U.S. Embassies in the Philippines, Croatia, Macedonia, and Argentina.

The Daniel Pearl Foundation will sponsor two fellows from Pakistan, the country where the Wall Street Journal correspondent was killed in 2002. The foundation sponsors the fellowships in an effort to promote cross-cultural understanding and communication. In addition to their regular assignments at U.S. newspapers, the Daniel Pearl Fellows will also visit prominent Jewish publications.

The group was selected from more than 200 applications. The 2008 IJE Fellows, and the U.S. news organizations where they will spend their fellowship, are:

Ansar Ahmad Abbasi, editor of investigations, The News, Pakistan (Daniel Pearl Fellow). Assignment: Los Angeles Times.

María Alejandra Conti, co-editor, La Voz del Interior, Argentina. Assignment: Charlotte (N.C.) Observer.

Catherine Waithera Gicheru, editor, Nairobi Star, Kenya. Assignment: Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel.

Agapito Jr Joaquin, managing editor, Mindanao Daily Mirror, The Philippines. Assignment: Monterey County (Calif.) Herald.

Mahim Maher, city editor, Daily Times, Pakistan (Daniel Pearl Fellow). Assignment: Oakland (Calif.) Tribune.

Dusan Miljus, senior journalist/editor, Jutarnji List, Croatia. Assignment: Washington (D.C.) Times and Rocky Mountain News, Denver.

Goran Momiroski, diplomatic editor & deputy editor-in-chief, Macedonian Daily News, Macedonia. Assignment: Christian Science Monitor, Boston.

Fikile Ntsikelelo Moya, editor, Sowetan, South Africa (World Editors Forum Fellow). Assignment: Los Angeles Daily News.

Participants will spend several days in Washington, D.C., arriving September 20, and two weeks at media organizations across the country, where they will work side-by-side with their U.S. counterparts. The program concludes with a wrap-up session in New York.

More than 200 editors worldwide have participated in the International Journalism Exchange since its inception in 1984.

The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), a non-profit, professional organization, promotes quality journalism worldwide in the belief that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human condition. Aiming to raise the standards of journalism, ICFJ offers hands-on training workshops, seminars, fellowships and international exchanges to journalists and media managers around the globe.