Blogs

Sep 222016

Investigative journalism: Invaluable but underfunded

by Sarah Needle

ICFJ’s Patrick Butler led a fascinating session on the future of investigative journalism at Global Forum for Media Development’s major gathering in Indonesia this week. The importance of collaboration in an era of scarce funding and unprecedented dangers was a key topic.
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Sep 162016

Global Media Innovators Share New Tools, New Thinking at U.S. Digital News Gathering

by Elyssa Pachico

A group of journalism pioneers, working as Knight International Journalism Fellows, highlighted a range of digital innovations before an audience of U.S. newsroom leaders at the 2016 Online News Association (ONA) conference in Denver, Colorado.
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Sep 162016

How Pakistan’s Express Tribune reported its biggest online project

by Sara Olstad

In 2015, ICFJ Knight Fellow Shaheryar Popalzai was embedded at The Express Tribune, one of Pakistan’s largest daily newspapers, to help them design and build data-driven online media projects.
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Sep 142016

New ICFJ Knight Fellows Foster News Innovation on Three Continents

by Sara Olstad

Four media leaders have been named by the International Center for Journalists to lead projects that will bring innovations to news organizations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. They join a team of ICFJ Knight Fellows who are advancing a culture of global news innovation, leading to better journalism and more engaged citizens.

Irshad Daftari is bringing the latest digital tools to Indian media to enhance their storytelling and audience engagement.
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Sep 142016

14 Free Digital Tools Created by ICFJ Knight Fellows that any Newsroom Can Use

by Sara Olstad

ICFJ’s Knight Fellows are global media innovators who foster news innovation and experimentation to deepen coverage, expand news delivery and better engage citizens.
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Sep 92016

ICFJ Knight roundup: African Fund for Innovative Journalism Accepting Entries

by Sara Olstad

_As part of the Knight International Media Innovators blog, the ICFJ Knight team will round up stories focused on how their fellows are making an impact in the field.
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Sep 12016

Why I'm Using a Battlefield Simulator to Train Journalists

by Jorge Luis Sierra

Journalists and citizens alike need to be prepared to face the unexpected, including getting caught in the middle of gunfire, as has happened in recent attacks in Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Baghdad, San Bernardino, [Orlando](http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/12/us/
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Sep 12016

Tips for Getting Your Newsroom Started With Facebook Live

by Shaheryar Popalzai

Up until 2015, a news organization livestream mostly consisted of running a feed of their video content on their websites. Generally speaking, livestreaming equipment was considered costly. But Facebook Live changed that, making it easy for anyone to stream anything they wanted using just their cellphones and a decent internet connection.

How does that help news organizations? For starters, it helps them reach a wider audience with little to no cost.
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Aug 162016

ICFJ Knight Fellow Challenge: Steal My Tool!

by Paige Levin

Known as media innovators, ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellows are creating tools and services that they are eager to share worldwide. They range from Aleph, software that searches large datasets for the names of people and companies, to Salama, an app that assesses a reporter’s risk and recommends ways to stay safe.
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Aug 162016

ICFJ Brings 360° Video to Pakistani Newsrooms

by Shaheryar Popalzai

Pakistan has made the leap into 360° video. As an ICFJ Knight Fellow, I worked in collaboration with The Express Tribune in Karachi to produce Pakistani media’s first experiment in virtual-reality video.

Why did we do this? Because 360° video is a visual storytelling tool with massive potential — both for planned projects and for live and breaking news. It provides viewers with a more in-depth, immersive experience, giving a first-person perspective on your story.

For our first story, we planned a series on heritage sites in Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city.
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Recent ICFJ Bloggers

Sarah Needle

Communications Associate

Needle serves as a communications associate, maintaining and growing ICFJ’s online presence. Prior to joining ICFJ, she worked at ReThink Media consulting on digital campaign creation, growth strategy, graphic design and more with nonprofits across a wide range of issues including Islamophobia, money in politics and nuclear weapons. Needle got her start in digital strategy while a student at Smith College, working with peers and Local Union 211 on an awareness campaign during the union’s contract negotiation with the college. Needle graduated from Smith College in 2015 with a B.A. in Government and Middle East Studies.

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Elyssa Pachico

IJNet Manager

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Sara Olstad

Program Officer, Knight International Journalism Fellowships

Sara Olstad supports ICFJ's Knight International Journalism Fellowships as a program officer.

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Maite Fernandez

Communications Director

Fernandez is a native of Uruguay, where she worked as a reporter for the national daily newspaper El Observador and for its website, Elobservador.com.uy.

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Shaheryar Popalzai

Knight International Journalism Fellow, Pakistan

ICFJ Knight Fellow Shaheryar Popalzai is a digital journalist based in Pakistan with a focus on news innovation, digital media strategy and data-driven journalism.

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Jorge Luis Sierra

Knight International Journalism Fellow

ICFJ Knight Fellow Jorge Luis Sierra is an expert on cyber security. He focuses on the intersection of digital security, technology and investigative journalism.

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Paige Levin

Dow Jones News Fund Digital Intern

Paige Levin supports ICFJ’s communications staff as a Dow Jones News Fund Digital Intern.

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Omar Mohammed

Knight International Journalism Fellow, Tanzania

ICFJ Knight Fellow Omar Mohammed is leading the launch of Code for Tanzania, which will promote data journalism and civic innovation as a means to strengthen journalistic storytelling and audience engagement.

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Christopher Guess

Knight International Journalism Fellow, Eastern Europe & Eurasia

Guess is developing long-term sustainability plans and better management practices for a network of media organizations and investigative reporting centers in Eastern Europe and Eurasia.

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Samantha Juster

Knight International Journalism Fellowships Program Intern

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