Participant Story

ICFJ Voices: Claudia Jardim, Exploring How the Everyday Consumer is Affected by Modern Day Slavery

Claudia Jardim is a Brazilian freelance journalist who specializes in human rights issues across Latin America and South Asia. Her impactful work earned her recognition as a 2021 Professional Fellows Program for Emerging Media Leaders (PFP EML) fellow and a 2022 Alumni Engagement Grant awardee. Some PFP EML fellows can be selected for an ECA Alumni Engagememnt Grant, which supports media initiatives that have the potential to transform Latin American journalism. With this funding, Jardim launched No Labirinto, a podcast about modern-day slavery in Brazil.

The "All-Rounder" Journalist and Four Other Reflections from My Placement with The Economist

When I was announced as a joint winner of ICFJ’s Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling in April, I was thrilled to finally win an award I first applied to in 2018. Even more, I was excited to spend two weeks at The Economist’s newsroom in London as  part of a professional development program provided through the award. During this time, I focused on lessons and practices I could replicate in my work as a journalist in Africa. Here are my top five reflections.

Factchequeado: Fact-Checking in the Aftermath of the Assassination Attempt Against Trump

In the wake of the assassination attempt against former U.S. President and current Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, mis- and disinformation is rampant — and Spanish-language falsehoods are no exception.

ICFJ Voices: Justina Asishana, Driving Impact Through Integrity and Coalition

For Justina Asishana, journalism is about integrity and impact. From documenting the dangerous decline in Nigeria’s health system to reporting directly from internally displaced person’s camps in the midst of the pandemic, she is meticulous and people-focused in her investigations and has a proven record of influence. Here’s what Asishana had to say about her work at the Africa Women Journalism Project.

Reporters Reveal Corruption Along U.S.-Mexico Border

After investigative journalist Isabel Mercado revealed troubling kinks in the supply chain for cancer drugs along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Mexican state of Baja California pressed charges against the former officials involved, who now face up to 17 years in prison.

To Reinvent Journalism, Start by Updating its Mission

Trust in journalism is at an all-time low, engagement is declining, and the business outlook for the industry is uncertain at best. These are facts. Although I believe that journalism can’t be saved, we can reinvent it. With News Alchemists, we aim to articulate a vision for change in the journalism industry and advocate for it, in order to make journalism more user-centric, and more equitable and sustainable as a result.

Lessons Learned from Integrating AI in a Local Newsroom in Argentina

I worked with Todo Jujuy for eight months, from the start seeking to make clear that implementing AI in the newsroom involved not only the introduction of new technologies but also a cultural shift and a reconfiguration of existing workflows. This was evident to those of us who worked in media as it was being digitized in the early 2000s.

ICFJ Voices: ‘Kunle Adebajo on the Importance of Covering the Past

For ‘Kunle Adebajo, journalism is about “keeping the important stories in our consciousness, getting justice for those treated unfairly, and setting the records straight for future generations.”

ICFJ Voices: Tim Mak on a Different Kind of Conflict Reporting

When Tim Mak went to Djibouti in 2015 as an ICFJ fellow, it was the first time he had reported overseas. Today, less than a decade later, he is in Ukraine, bringing undercovered stories of the Russian invasion to English-speaking audiences.

'Women Who Won the War' is Creating Space for Women in the Middle East to Tell Their Own Stories

The Syrian Civil War has claimed the lives of more than 500,000 people since protests against the government during the Arab Spring ignited into conflict in 2011. Nearly 7 million Syrians have fled abroad in a mass exodus, and an equivalent number have been displaced inside the country – in total, over half of Syria’s pre-war population. The war has since faded from global attention but Syrian journalists continue to report on it today, while bearing witness to the crimes committed in what has been one of the 21st century’s deadliest conflicts.