News

From India to Indonesia: A How-To on Spreading Mobile News Technology

Arjun Venkatraman was a technical expert who helped Knight International Journalism Fellow Shubhranshu Choudhary develop an advanced version of his CGNet Swara cell phone service in India. Recently, Venkatraman journeyed to Indonesia to work with Knight International Journalism Fellow Harry Surjadi on a similar project there.

Christmas in Colombia: Newsroom Joins Religion and Rumba Mix

Here, December comes with an undercurrent that feels uniquely Colombian. The Christmas celebrations show a deep commitment to religion – as throughout the Western world. But they show the same deep commitment to rumba – that is, the Colombian expression for partying and having a good time.

Trip to Rural Mozambique Shows How Badly Medicine – and Media – Are Needed

The village health post was empty of patients when we arrived at one of the stops on our trip – around 4 p.m., after hours. So Zao Ali Issufo, a lanky, enterprising reporter from community radio in Mueda, Mozambique, set out to interview villagers.

Journalists from Chattanooga and Chicago Honored for International Reporting

Two reporters have won awards, named for Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, for outstanding coverage of global stories with important local angles.

$1 Million Fund Seeds New Media Innovations in Africa

I’ve crisscrossed the African continent over the past five months, clocking more than 27,000 miles as I’ve helped newsrooms come to grips with the new digital era. And wherever I go, I meet two to three journalists per day who think they have a solution to the malaise that paralyzes much of the continent’s traditional media.

From Mozambique: The Challenges, Taboos and How-to's of Health Reporting

Health reporting in Mozambique means facing some unusual taboos. Knight International Health Fellow Mercedes Sayagues recently spoke with IJNet about some of the challenges and rewards.

In Ethiopia, Reproductive Health Journalism Requires Careful Presentation

Tigist Muleta has the kind of story I want all my journalism trainees exposed to. She could have been another statistic – a wife at 14 who finds that repeated pregnancies threaten the comfortable life she envisioned. Instead, a new awareness of health and reproductive choices helped turn her life around.

Although Tigist was quickly the mother of three, her relatives in Ethiopia’s remote district of Girar-Jarsso still advised her and her husband to have more children – considered wealth there. Then a community health worker taught the young couple about family planning methods.

New Mobile SMS Service Helps Indonesian Villagers Hold Company Accountable

The first message came by text on October 17 from a cell phone in rural Indonesia, and it quickly got results – a surprising and encouraging turn of events for the new citizen journalist who sent it.

“One hundred residents of Sei Enau village … are defending their lands,” it read in the native Indonesian language. It was the very first SMS message sent through a new communications system developed by Knight International Journalism Fellow Harry Surjadi, in partnership with Ruai TV and Internews.

South Africa's HIV News Squeezed in Among Politics and Crime

The last of the jacaranda’s hardiest blossoms are being blasted from the trees by fierce wind and rain. Spring has turned to stormy summer in South Africa, and almost everyone in Johannesburg is about to decamp for the beach or the village for the holidays.

The media have been obsessed with the antics of the leaders of the ANC Youth League, the young lords of the ruling party who’re led by Julius Malema, now facing a five-year suspension from the ANC for defying party elders, disrupting meetings, and criticizing President Zuma.

Reporters Win Awards for Raising Financial Literacy in Minority Communities

Three journalists have won awards for in-depth stories that have improved the financial literacy of minorities across the United States. The award winners were among 42 reporters who participated in a 12-week program administered by ICFJ and funded by The McGraw-Hill Companies on personal finance reporting.

Heather Scofield, staff writer at The Durango Herald, won first place for her front-page articles on immigrants slipping through cracks in the country’s health system.