Writing/Editing

Oct 42011

India's World Media Academy Students Master the Skills of Journalism Past, Present and Future

When I work with my class of 18 aspiring journalists at World Media Academy, Delhi, I am reminded that students are the heart of a school.

Oct 12011

Right To Information Act Gives Crime Reporter in Bangalore Big News, For A Change

H.M. Chaithanya Swamy is a crime reporter in Bangalore. The city is known for its booming outsourcing industry and not for its crime rate. Reporting on crime from the city can be quite tame, but that may be changing, thanks to the Right To Information, which recently made headlines there.

Sub-Saharan Africa: Launch a Storytelling Challenge to Spur Innovative Coverage of Health and Development

Knight International Journalism Fellow Joseph Warungu is leading the launch of an Africa-wide storytelling contest to encourage better coverage of Africa’s growth, development, health and quality of life. The challenge will seek in-depth features; data-driven journalism; and other entries that use innovative tools to engage the public or tell stories.

Capacity Development of Media Institutions Leaders in Yemen

ICFJ provided hands-on training and mentoring to Yemeni media managers in order to give them the knowledge and skills to run their newsrooms as professionally and effectively as possible. The program structure included three phases: a two-week media management course, three months of online mentoring, and a two-week in-person follow up consultancy.

Bringing Home the World: International Reporting Fellowship Program for Minority Journalists

Over the years, journalists of color have had few opportunities to work as foreign correspondents. That’s especially the case in today’s media environment, with sharp cutbacks by many news outlets in their international coverage. At the same time, communities of color rarely receive coverage of global issues that directly affect their lives, from the migration of jobs overseas to wars fought by minorities serving in the U.S. military.

Apr 182011

In Malawi, the battle over trees pits the poor population against the government

Editor note: Knight Fellow Edem Djokotoe discusses contrasting philosophies between a government bent on prosecuting the charcoal industry and a rural population dependent on its profits.

Two weeks after he returned from the UN climate change conference in December, Malawi’s energy minister, Grain Malunga, made a controversial public pronouncement: “Arrest all charcoal sellers.”

Prosecuting them, he argued, would save the country from the devastating effects of deforestation and deter others from chopping down trees for charcoal.