News

Journalists, Technologists Gather to Launch Hacks/Hackers Chapter in Rosario, Argentina

Journalists mingled with technologists, programmers and designers to establish Latin America's newest chapter of Hacks/Hackers, which promotes collaboration on news media projects. More than 60 people attended the inaugural meeting of Hacks/Hackers Rosario, the second group to be formed in Argentina. Among the speakers were ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellow Mariano Blejman, who talked about projects launched at Hacks/Hackers Buenos Aires, the country's first chapter.

Tsinghua University Forges Bloomberg Staff, Alumni Networks

May 8 (On Bloomberg) -- Editor-in-Chief Matthew Winkler spearheaded a groundbreaking project in China when in 2007 he set up a Bloomberg terminal lab at Tsinghua University.

Pakistan's Rural Reporters Use Social Media to Cover the Elections

ICFJ recently conducted a program training rural Pakistani journalists how to cover the country's upcoming general elections with the aim of highlighting issues important to rural citizens. As the country prepares for its first democratic transition of power May 11, the program provided almost 40 rural journalists with mobile devices, their own wireless "hotspots," and taught them to use Facebook and Twitter to cover issues important in their communities.

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Kenya's hotly contested 2013 presidential election saw a record turnout. This peaceful transition of power contrasted dramatically with the violence that followed the 2007 election.

Engaging Citizens in Governance With Open Data

Citizens, writes development expert Jay Naidoo in The Guardian, always know better than the government or the market what works for them. “So why don't state officials and policymakers take us, the citizens, into their confidence?” he asks. “Can we begin to see citizens as the greatest ally for good governance? And if so, how do we pursue a partnership between government and citizens?”

“Part of the answer lies in open data,” Naidoo writes.

ICFJ’s Knight Projects, Partners Are Finalists for Data Journalism Awards

A platform that monitors the fragile Amazon region; a site that illuminates connections among the powerful; and an investigation into corrupt spending practices by Argentina’s Senate are among the outstanding projects of ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellows and their partners named finalists for 2013 Data Journalism Awards.

Five projects from ICFJ Knight Fellows and their partners were shortlisted for the awards, which are the only international prizes exclusively for the growing field of data-driven journalism.

U.S.-German Exchange Cultivates the Next Generation of Foreign Correspondents

Twenty reporters from prestigious media outlets across the U.S. and Germany are the newest participants in an influential exchange program for young journalists, the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship.

Many of this year’s U.S. participants come from leading radio stations across the country. Also represented are Washington news website Politico, VICE Media, and The Washington Times. Their German colleagues hail from top news organizations such as N24 TV, Die Zeit and Der Spiegel newspapers.

The Fellows will come to Washington, D.C.

ICFJ News, Spring 2013

We hope you enjoy ICFJ's quarterly newsletter. In our programs, we seed new ideas and services that deepen coverage, expand news delivery and engage citizens in the editorial process.

How Health Coverage Went From Second-Rate to Top-Tier in Mozambique

When Mercedes Sayagues arrived in Mozambique three years ago to begin work as a Knight International Journalism Fellow, health news was consigned to the back pages, health stories were based on news releases, and health assignments went to the least experienced reporters.

Story on Using Koran to Reform Al Qaeda fighters Wins Amanpour Award

Indian journalist Syed Nazakat has received the Christiane Amanpour Award for Religion Reporting for his story in The Week magazine about how Saudi Arabian officials and clerics are using the Koran and other religious texts to rehabilitate Al Qaeda fighters. The International Center for Journalists gives the award in honor of Amanpour, the 2011 winner of its Founders Award for Excellence in Journalism and a model for enlightening coverage of divisive religion issues.

For the story “Reborn in Riyadh,” Nazakat traveled to four Saudi cities.