Blog Post

Forced Evictions in Haiti Provide Lessons for Young Journalists

On the grounds of the university established by former President Jean Bertrand Aristide in Tabarre, a community just a few miles north east of the capital, some 400 families are about to be displaced. Aristide is reclaiming his property, including dormitories where some residents are squatting, so that he can reopen his school. To facilitate the move, he’s purchased a plot of land and ACTED, a French non-governmental organization, is constructing transitional shelters.

Top Journalists Help Identify Challenges with Health Reporting in Developing Countries

When I was invited in June to take part in an international discussion about health issues for senior-level women journalists from developing African countries, I jumped at the chance. I was eager to hear from participants about the challenges they have faced as health editors, reporters and producers for influential media organizations.

Peru's TV Station Takes its Presidential Election Coverage to New Levels

All the polls leading up to the June 5 runoff election indicated it would be a tight race between Nationalist candidate Ollanta Humala, and Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights abuses. How best to serve voters and viewers?

In Tanzania, technology helps shortening the distance between cities and farms

It takes me nine hours of driving only on smooth tarmac to cover the 435 miles from Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam to Arusha in the north, but some of my citizen journalist trainees require two days to cover 100 miles or so to reach the venue for our sessions. So they set off a day earlier from their homes to arrive at the same time that I do.

Solidarity and Professionalism: Two Crucial Components for Change in the Press, and Change in Haiti

A former Carnival singer and media hound, Martelly embraces the spotlight. Coverage of any kind, he says, is okay, as long as it’s balanced and accurate. On Latin America Freedom of the Press Day, June 7th, however, he cautioned journalists to be more responsible. And to be more united, working together for a common cause - the betterment of Haiti.

20-Plus Reasons Why Investing in Media Creates Lasting Change

Over time, we’ve noticed a growing myth about media grant making – that the outcomes aren’t quantifiable, that it doesn’t produce a tangible, measurable impact.

In a new report, the International Center for Journalists offers 20 plus reasons to the contrary. That’s how many changes to government policies were brought to bear by the work of fellows.

In Ethiopia, a New Health Program Brings Hope to a Farmer with TB

It has been almost two months now since I was assigned to the Federal Ministry of Health in Ethiopia as a Knight International Health Journalism Fellow to help improve the quality and quantity of health radio and television shows produced by the ministry. The shows are transmitted on the national broadcaster, Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency.

Training Investigative Journalists in the Countryside: Quenching the Thirst for Knowledge

This past weekend, 22 journalists in the southern town of Jacmel received a certificate of completion for 36 hours of training in investigative journalism. The four women and 18 men who participated on a volunteer basis are, I hope, the first of many throughout the country who will benefit from this course thanks to a generous donation from a group of anonymous donors.

A Surprise on International Freedom of the Press Day Affirms the Importance of Solid Training

To say that Haiti is full of surprises is kind of like saying that summers here are hot. Surprises are as numerous as Haiti’s contradictions: two hundred dollar a night hotels across from tent camps, five-star restaurants facing water distribution points.

Many of the surprises provoke mixed emotions, like when I turn the corner only to find myself in a traffic jam because a pickup truck is finally removing rubble.

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.