During the ICFJ Tribute to Journalists 2022 on November 10, five members of the ICFJ network who were watching the event online were spotlighted by ICFJ President Sharon Moshavi during the awards broadcast. “... you and all of the journalists you represent are the reason we all are here,” Moshavi said.
The five journalists, Ankita Mukhopadhyay, Cley Medeiros, Ahmed Elsheikh, Mady Camara and Kharla Pimentel, hail from news organizations and countries around the world, reflecting ICFJ’s vast network of journalists.
Ankita Mukhopadhyay
Originally from India, Ankita Mukhopadhyay currently lives in San Francisco and works for POLITICO as a product manager.
“I wanted to tell underreported stories and give marginalized people a voice through my reporting,” Mukhopadhyay said. “I eventually moved to product management to equip myself with the technical and business skills required to build socially inclusive and impactful media products.”
To Mukhopadhyay, the most meaningful coverage she has produced is on the COVID-19 crisis in India. She covered topics from the conditions of migrant workers to village hospitals, having work featured in several local publications.
IJNet, ICFJ’s partner publication, publishes a newsletter that Mukhopadhyay said has helped massively in finding new opportunities in the media space, like National Geographic’s COVID-19 Emergency Fund, from which she received a grant to report on women’s health in India’s "urban slums," she said.
Additionally, Mukhopadhyay has also participated in ICFJ workshops and taken part in the COVID-19 reporting survey. “I am deeply grateful to be part of ICFJ's growing network and contribute to upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethics in journalism,” Mukhopadhyay said.
Cley Medeiros
Cley Medeiros, from Manaus, Brazil, started his journalism career during the 2013 riots in São Paulo. He is currently an assistant editor for the online version of the newspaper A Crítica, working with metrics, SEO techniques, copywriting, Google ads and other digital communication management platforms.
“I chose to be a journalist to act as an agent of social transformation in my community, which has a low level of media education,” Medeiros said.
Medeiros’ contact with ICFJ is recent, he said, but he has already had the opportunity to visit the ICFJ headquarters in Washington, D.C. for the International Visitor Leadership Program, an exchange program with the U.S. Department of State. “The content shared with the network's journalists is accessible and directly assists in building new perspectives on journalism. It's always a unique opportunity,” Medeiros said.
Medeiros has participated in several ICFJ programs, including Accelerating the Digital Transformation, Digital Security for Journalists, Journalists and Contact with Indigenous Communities and the Disarming Disinformation master class.
Ahmed Elsheikh
Ahmed Elsheikh is a senior digital producer for Masrawy in Egypt. He also freelances for international outlets like France 24, the BBC and more.
Elsheikh began his career in journalism during the Egyptian Revolution in 2011 using a mobile phone to document police brutality against demonstrators. On January 28, also known as "Friday of Anger," Elsheikh lost his left eye as security forces were targeting photographers filming the protests.
In 2013, Elsheikh began working in journalism officially as a fixer for The New York Times in Syria. This happened by chance when he went to Syria as a volunteer to provide humanitarian aid in liberated areas, and a journalist reached out looking for a fixer, Elsheikh said. Once back in Egypt, he became an investigative journalist. His report “Eye of the Revolution” was featured in the BBC Arabic Aan Korb Film and Documentary Festival in 2014.
Elsheikh has used many ICFJ training in topics from mobile journalism to cybersecurity to data journalism. “It's helped me in a lot of things, from getting acquainted with everything new in the world of journalism, and also a network with journalists from different Arab countries, which helped me a lot in my work,” Elsheikh said.
Elsheikh has been featured as a panelist on one of IJNet’s Arabic Pamela Howard Forum for Global Crisis Reporting webinars about best practices for covering disasters, crises and trauma.
Mady Camara
Mady Camara is a freelance journalist from Kédougou, the southeastern region of Senegal. Camara is interested in providing readers with accurate and detailed information in an engaging format.
First introduced to journalism while still in high school in Kédougou, Camara worked with the Associated Press reporting on the exploitation of child labor in artisanal gold mines in the region.
“With my English and French skills and knowledge of the local context, I accompanied the AP team for three months, assisting with interviews, translations, and connecting the journalists to key community members,” Camara said.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Camara took it as a chance to formally pursue a career in journalism and spent two years as a news assistant for The New York Times reporting on the West and Central African regions, where he covered stories like one about a Senegalese activist fighting against the use of plastic. “This is important to me because the ban on use of plastic in Senegal is limping on its way to become formalized,” Camara said.
Camara said ICFJ supported him with a journalism ethics training in March 2021.
Kharla Pimentel
Kharla Pimentel is an independent journalist from the Dominican Republic with a focus on digital, audiovisual and radio journalism.
Pimentel is part of Connectas Hub, a network of journalists across 19 countries in Latin America, and has received funding from ICFJ through Connectas for journalistic projects.
Through Connectas, Pimentel reported on the lives of children orphaned after their mothers were the victims of femicide, the act of murdering women and girls because of their gender.
Pimentel has also taken national and international courses from IRI with support from ICFJ.
“[I’m] happy to be part of so many journalists from various platforms who have received training and support for independent investigations by the ICFJ,” Pimentel said.