Announcing the 2025 Livingston Awards Finalists

Wallace House Center for Journalists and the University of Michigan today announced the 2025 Livingston Awards finalists in local, national, and international reporting. The awards support young journalists and honor the best reporting and storytelling by journalists under 35 across all forms of journalism. The finalist selections were chosen for work released in 2024.

This year’s winners will be announced on June 10, 2025, at an in-person awards ceremony in New York City hosted by Audie Cornish, Livingston Awards national judge and host of “CNN This Morning with Audie Cornish.”

“In a world where algorithms and devices often constrict our view and narrow our understanding, these finalists exemplify the fierce commitment of reporters to dig beyond dominant narratives. Their work uncovers overlooked stories and voices that demand our attention,” said Lynette Clemetson, director of the awards and the Wallace House Center for Journalists. “We invite you to read, watch, and listen to some of the most compelling journalism of the past year.”

Now in its 44th year, the awards continue to bolster the work of young reporters, encourage the next generation of journalism leaders and mentors, and foster civic engagement around powerful storytelling.

The Livingston Awards regional judges read all qualifying entries to select the finalists in local, national and international reporting. The regional judging panel includes Molly Ball, senior political correspondent, The Wall Street Journal; Meghna Chakrabarti, host and editor, “On Point,” WBUR; Stella Chávez, investigative reporter, The Texas Newsroom; Adam Ganucheau, editor in chief, Mississippi Today; David Greene, co-founder, Fearless Media; Stephen Henderson, host, WDET, public radio Detroit and Detroit Public Television; and Amna Nawaz, co-anchor, PBS “NewsHour.”

A panel of national judges reviews all finalist entries and selects the winners. The national judges are Audie Cornish; Raney Aronson-Rath, executive producer, “FRONTLINE”; Sally Buzbee, news editor for the United States and Canada, Reuters; Sewell Chan, former executive editor, Columbia Journalism Review; Matt Murray, executive editor, The Washington Post; Lydia Polgreen, opinion columnist, The New York Times; María Elena Salinas, independent journalist, formerly of ABC News; Bret Stephens, opinion columnist, The New York Times; and Kara Swisher, podcast host, New York Media.

The Livingston Awards are made possible with support from generous sponsors, including the University of Michigan, the Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour, Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling, the Judy and Fred Wilpon Foundation, and The Joyce Foundation.

We present the 2025 Livingston Awards finalists. You can find their submitted work here.

Local Reporting

  • Hadley Barndollar, MassLive
  • Ana Claudia Chacin and Clara-Sophia Daly, Miami Herald
  • Shannon Chaffers, New York Amsterdam News
  • Max Chesnes and Emily Mahoney, Tampa Bay Times
  • Wilson Criscione and Kelsey Turner, InvestigateWest
  • Luis Ferré-Sadurní, The New York Times
  • Caroline Ghisolfi, Amelia Winger and Matt deGrood, Houston Chronicle
  • Quinn Glabicki, PublicSource
  • Jessika Harkay, The Connecticut Mirror
  • Grace Hauck and Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project and Better Government Association
  • Ivana Hrynkiw, AL.com
  • Andrea Igliozzi, Rashel Cedeño de Abreu, Christian Vazquez-García and Bryan Albor, Univision 19
  • Cleo Krejci, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
  • Asher Lehrer-Small, Houston Landing
  • Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times 
  • Katie Mettler, The Washington Post
  • Juliette Rihl, PennLive and The Patriot-News
  • Bayliss Wagner, Austin American-Statesman
  • Mihir Zaveri, The New York Times
  • Alissa Zhu, Jessica Gallagher and Nick Thieme, The Baltimore Banner in partnership with The New York Times

 National Reporting

  • Thomas Birmingham, In These Times
  • Eric Boodman, STAT
  • Chip Brownlee, The Trace
  • Chabeli Carrazana, The 19th
  • Nicole Einbinder and Hannah Beckler, Business Insider
  • Lev Facher, STAT
  • Lauren Gill and Daniel Moritz-Rabson, Bolts in partnership with The Intercept
  • Emily Gogolak, Harper’s Magazine
  • Emma Goldberg, The New York Times
  • Benjamin Guggenheim, POLITICO
  • Esmy Jimenez and Sydney Brownstone, The Seattle Times in partnership with KUOW Public Radio
  • George Joseph and Will Craft, The Guardian US
  • Joshua Kaplan, ProPublica
  • Joseph Lee, Vox
  • Daniel Lombroso, The New Yorker
  • Mark Olalde and Nick Bowlin, ProPublica and Capital & Main
  • Cecilia Reyes, Business Insider
  • Christie Thompson, The Marshall Project
  • Jasmine Wright, NOTUS

 International Reporting

  • Anna-Catherine Brigida, Houston Landing
  • Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone
  • Mari Cohen, Jewish Currents
  • Jeremy Diamond, CNN Worldwide
  • Jessica Fu, Popular Mechanics
  • Raffaele Huang and Tracy Qu, The Wall Street Journal
  • Lizzie Johnson, Anastacia Galouchka and Kamila Hrabchuk, The Washington Post
  • Lasha Madan, 99% Invisible, SiriusXM
  • Charlie Metcalfe, MIT Technology Review
  • Will Neal, New Lines Magazine
  • David Pan and Fasika Tadesse Yimer, Bloomberg News
  • Nicole Sadek, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
  • Liam Scott, Voice of America
  • Dasl Yoon, The Wall Street Journal

More on the finalists’ work and links to watch, listen and read here.

One Nation, Divergent Views: A Pre-Election Roundtable

(left to right) New York Times columnists Bret Stephens and Lydia Polgreen, ABC News’ María Elena Salinas, University of Michigan professor Vincent Hutchings
and WDET’s Stephen Henderson

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2024 | 6 PM

Rackham Auditorium
915 E Washington St
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Watch the video recording.

A Special Election Event

Join Wallace House and the Institute for Social Research for a live conversation driven by journalism and social science in the run-up to the presidential election. Hear special guests Bret Stephens and Lydia Polgreen of The New York Times, María Elena Salinas of ABC News, and Vincent Hutchings of U-M Center for Political Studies in conversation with veteran Michigan journalist Stephen Henderson. As part of the University of Michigan’s Year of Democracy, Civic Empowerment, and Global Engagement initiative, this special event will provide insights on critical issues shaping the 2024 election and social science research on the American voting public.

Drawing on findings from the 75-year-long American National Election Studies, the discussion will explore the dramatic rise of political polarization, the significant decline in public trust in government — which has dropped from 80% in the 1950s to just 20% today — and other key factors influencing voter behavior. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear diverse perspectives on the forces shaping the upcoming election.

About the Speakers

Vincent Hutchings is a professor of political science at the University of Michigan and an expert in public opinion, elections, voting behavior and African American politics. He was one of the principal investigators for the American National Election Studies (ANES) from 2010 to 2017.  The ANES is the premier academic survey of American voting, public opinion, and political participation. The ANES was launched at the University of Michigan during the 1948 presidential election and has collected the highest quality national survey data, with questions dating as far back as the 1950s and 1960s, in every presidential election since then.

Lydia Polgreen is an opinion columnist at The New York Times and a co-host of the “Matter of Opinion” podcast. Previously, she served as managing director of Gimlet, a podcast studio at Spotify, and as editor-in-chief of HuffPost, leading a team of hundreds of journalists publishing 16 editions across the globe in nine languages. Her leadership at HuffPost followed a 15-year career at The New York Times that included roles as associate masthead editor, deputy international editor, South Africa bureau chief, a correspondent for the New Delhi bureau and chief of the West Africa bureau. Before joining The Times, Polgreen was a staff writer for the Orlando Sentinel and the Albany Times Union. She received the 2009 Livingston Award for international reporting for her series, “The Spoils,” an account of how mineral wealth brought misery and exploitation to much of Africa.

María Elena Salinas is a contributor to ABC News. For more than 30 years, she served as co-anchor of Univision Network’s flagship daily newscast, “Noticiero Univision,” and for 18 years she was the co-host and correspondent for the network’s weekly newsmagazine, “Aquí y Ahora.” Called the “Voice of Hispanic America” by The New York Times, Salinas is the most recognized Hispanic female journalist in the United States. Most recently, Salinas served as a contributor for CBS News, where she reported across platforms and on coverage of the 2020 presidential election. She also anchored the award-winning documentary, “Pandemia: Latinos in Crisis,” which looked at how COVID-19 has affected the Latinx community.

Bret Stephens is an opinion columnist for The New York Times, writing about foreign policy, domestic politics and cultural issues. He also has a weekly published conversation on current affairs with his colleague, Gail Collins. Previously, he was the foreign affairs columnist for The Wall Street Journal, a member of the Journal’s editorial board and the deputy editor of the editorial page, responsible for international opinion. Stephens was awarded the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his column “Global View,” receiving the honor for “his incisive columns on American foreign policy and domestic politics, often enlivened by a contrarian twist.”

About the moderator

Stephen Henderson hosts the daily radio show “Created Equal” on WDET, Detroit’s public radio station, and is the longtime host of “American Black Journal” and a regular contributor to “One Detroit” on Detroit PBS. Previously, he was the editorial page editor and a columnist for the Detroit Free Press. He has also worked for the Chicago Tribune and the Baltimore Sun and spent four years covering the Supreme Court for Knight Ridder’s Washington Bureau. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and a former editorial page editor of The Michigan Daily, the school’s 125-year-old daily student newspaper.

Co-Sponsors
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Institute for Social Research
U-M’s Year of Democracy, Civic Empowerment and Global Engagement initiative
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EXPLORE MORE WALLACE HOUSE EVENTS

The Song Foundation and The Joyce Foundation Commit $1.28 Million to Wallace House Center for Journalists to Launch the Great Lakes Local News Initiative

Wallace House Center for Journalists at the University of Michigan is pleased to announce an innovation-driven $1.28 million gift from the Song Foundation and the Joyce Foundation. This funding will launch the Great Lakes Local News Initiative and bolster the Knight-Wallace Fellowships, providing targeted support for journalists dedicated to revitalizing local news across the midwestern Great Lakes states.

The initiative will grant specialized fellowships within the Knight-Wallace program, offering entrepreneurship training from experts at Wallace House, the University of Michigan, and national and regional journalism partners. These fellowships will empower journalists to build or grow new journalism outlets or lead innovative initiatives within existing newsrooms, ensuring local communities have access to reliable, sustainable and equitable information.

The Great Lakes Local News Initiative is an effort to address the alarming decline of local journalism and the resulting breakdown in social cohesion necessary for informed, functioning communities. Nearly one-third of U.S. newspapers have closed since 2005, leaving behind news deserts and communities vulnerable to disinformation and unaccountable leadership, threatening the fabric of democracy. By building on the 50-year history of the Knight-Wallace Fellowships, this initiative will support journalists committed to creating or rebuilding strong, inclusive local news outlets essential to fostering community engagement, action and change. The effort aligns with numerous local news initiatives across the country.

“At a time when the strength of our democracy is under intense pressure, these generous gifts shine a bright light on the vital connection between journalism and an informed, civically engaged society,” said Lynette Clemetson, director of Wallace House. “Journalists in our region have the ideas, energy and dedication to design new strategies for reaching their local communities. Our ability to add directed training, tools and support networks will propel their efforts and foster a durable news ecosystem. We are deeply grateful to the Song Foundation and the Joyce Foundation for providing this transformative catalyst.”

The Michigan-based Song Foundation has pledged a $1 million challenge grant designed to inspire additional support from foundations and individual donors across the Great Lakes states of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. This gift will seed an endowment and build long-term sustainability over the next five years.

“We believe that collective investments are urgently needed to preserve local journalism and ensure residents of the Great Lakes region have access to credible information to help guide their engagement and advocacy at all levels of government,” said Khalilah Burt Gaston, executive director of the Song Foundation. “The Foundation’s commitment to building this ongoing endowment to support the Great Lakes Local News Initiative is our call for individuals and organizations to join us in supporting journalists with a vision and passion to chart new paths in their field.”

The Joyce Foundation, based in Illinois, has embraced this challenge with a $280,000 grant, reinforcing their shared commitment to equity and economic mobility in the Great Lakes region.

“It’s so important to give sharp minds the support they need to build the stronger local journalism we all need,” said Hugh Dellios, director of Joyce’s Journalism Program. “The Great Lakes region has been a fountain of innovative ideas for how to strengthen local news. We’re proud to partner with Wallace House and the Song Foundation to promote more successful entrepreneurship, and we hope others will join us in this effort.”

Applications for the Great Lakes Local News Fellowship will open in October to journalists committed to building or growing local news outlets across Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Like the traditional Knight-Wallace Fellowship, applicants must have at least five years of journalism experience and currently work in some aspect of journalism. The application deadline is February 1, 2025. The first recipients will be selected in May 2025 to join the 2025-2026 Knight-Wallace Fellowship cohort.

About The Song Foundation

The Song Foundation, inspired by Southeast Michigan’s spirit of progress and creative risk-taking, supports ideas, people, and organizations that further its shared vision of an equitable, thriving community. It embraces disruptors and amplifies the signal of people already working, every day to create opportunities for neighbors in need and to foster economic, social, environmental, and cultural wealth—community wealth—for a more free, prosperous, and joyful future.
song.foundation

About The Joyce Foundation

The Joyce Foundation is a private, nonpartisan philanthropy that invests in public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region.
joycefdn.org

About Wallace House Center for Journalists

Wallace Center for Journalists at the University of Michigan is committed to fostering excellence in journalism. We are home to programs that recognize, sustain and elevate the careers of journalists to address the challenges of journalism today, foster civic engagement and uphold the role of a free press in a democratic society. We believe in the fundamental mission of journalism to document, interpret, analyze and investigate the forces shaping society.

The 37th Graham Hovey Lecture with Mazin Sidahmed of Documented

“Sorting Immigration Facts from Fiction: The Power of Local Reporting Amid National Politics”

September 10, 2024 | 5 p.m.
Reception following the lecture

Wallace House Gardens
620 Oxford Road, Ann Arbor

Welcome remarks by Valeria Bertacco,
Vice Provost for Engaged Learning, University of Michigan

Watch the video recording.

In a deeply polarizing election year, immigration remains one of the most contentious, sensationalized issues in American politics. Beyond the partisan rallying cries influencing the presidential race, immigration plays out in individual communities where needs, resources and actions often transcend party lines and knee-jerk responses. How journalists cover immigration – and who their coverage ultimately serves – can shape how Americans understand and debate this issue for generations.

Join Mazin Sidahmed, 2021 Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellow and co-founder of the non-profit newsroom Documented, for a discussion on how shifting our journalism focus from national coverage to local news outlets and from “reporting about” to “reporting for and with” immigrant communities can help us discern immigration fact from fiction and improve outcomes for everyone.

This is an in-person event and will not be live-streamed. However, a recording of the lecture will be available on our website following the event.

About the Speaker

Mazin Sidahmed is the co-founder and co-executive editor of Documented, an independent, non-profit newsroom dedicated to reporting with and for immigrant communities in New York City. He previously worked for the Guardian US in New York during the 2016 US elections, covering various issues, including surveillance and criminal justice, and the rise of hate crimes following the election. Sidahmed left the news desk to join the award-winning Guardian Mobile Innovation Lab, where he helped develop new mobile-specific story formats. He started his career writing for The Daily Star in Beirut, where he reported on the Syrian refugee crisis, weapons transfers to Lebanon and the plight of migrant domestic workers.

As a 2021 Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellow, Sidahmed reported for Documented on the role of local police in federal immigration enforcement.

About the Graham Hovey Lecture

The annual Graham Hovey Lecture recognizes a Knight-Wallace journalist whose career exemplifies the benefits of a fellowship at the University of Michigan and whose ensuing work is at the forefront of our national conversations. The event is named for the late Graham Hovey, director of the fellowship program from 1980 to 1986 and a distinguished journalist for The New York Times.

Michigan Public is a co-sponsor of this event.

Announcing the 2024 Livingston Award Winners

2024 Livingston Award winners (clockwise from top-left) Samantha Hogan of The Maine Monitor, Renata Brito of The Associated Press, Kevin Merida, the Richard M. Clurman Award recipient, Allison Behringer and Lila Hassan of KCRW Public Radio (Southern California).

Today the Livingston Awards honor stories that represent the best in local, national and international reporting by journalists under the age of 35. The winning stories include a local news investigation exposing the systematic failures of Maine’s illusive probate courts, a documentary podcast probing timely gender-specific health challenges, and a visually-driven investigation retracing the tragic voyages of West African migrants lost in the Atlantic Ocean on their quest to reach Europe. The $10,000 prizes are for work released in 2023.

The Livingston Awards also honored Kevin Merida, former executive editor of the Los Angeles Times, with the Richard M. Clurman Award for mentoring. The prize is given each year to an experienced journalist who has played a pivotal role in guiding and nurturing the careers of young reporters. The award is named for the late Richard M. Clurman, former chief of correspondents for Time-Life News Service and architect of the Livingston Awards.

Livingston Awards national judges Kara Swisher of New York Magazine, Lydia Polgreen of The New York Times, Raney Aronson-Rath of Frontline and Lynette Clemetson, director of Wallace House, introduced the winners at a ceremony hosted by Livingston Awards emeritus judge Ken Auletta.

“We are honored to recognize this exceptional reporting that uses text, audio and visual storytelling to full effect,” said Lynette Clemetson. “It is especially inspiring to honor the doggedness of these journalists during a period of painful retrenchment in many news organizations. The persistence of young reporters to pursue challenging work with such ambition and creativity pushes our entire industry forward.” 

Celebrating its 43rd year, the awards bolster the work of young reporters, cultivate the next generation of journalism leaders and mentors and advance civic engagement around powerful storytelling. Major sponsors include the University of Michigan, Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour, the Judy and Fred Wilpon Family Foundation, Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling and The Joyce Foundation.

The 2024 winners for work released in 2023 are listed below.

Local Reporting

Samantha Hogan, 30, of The Maine Monitor for “Maine’s Part-Time Court,” a year-long investigation into the state’s illusive probate courts. Her reporting exposed stories of individuals whose life savings may have been pocketed by their conservators and revealed eight unexplained deaths of people who were under Maine’s state guardianship.

“Samantha Hogan’s multi-year investigation into an alarming lack of oversight within Maine’s probate courts is a shining example of local journalism at its finest. Her efforts were creative and meticulous: She conducted in-depth interviews with those in the probate system. She crafted and sent surveys to the probate courts. She dove into the research on alternative probate systems. And she submitted public records requests that ultimately revealed the suspicious deaths of eight people under the court’s guardianship. Samantha’s reporting catalyzed grassroots change and strengthened civic engagement and democracy.”
— Kara Swisher, Livingston Awards national judge

National Reporting

Allison Behringer, 33 and Lila Hassan, 28, KCRW Public Radio, for three episodes from Season Four of the podcast “Bodies.” Their stories explored early-onset puberty, postpartum psychosis and the fight for abortion training in a Post-Roe America through the lens of feminism, systemic discrimination and marginalization.

“I have done a lot of tough and dangerous reporting — interviewing warlords, trekking across deserts, dodging bullets in urban warfare. But years of experience have taught me that one of the hardest things to do is to get children to talk — openly, authentically and enthusiastically talk. Allison Behringer and Lila Hassan got kids to open up about some of the most intimate and private parts of their lives — their changing bodies. The “Bodies” episodes honored here are stories of huge social and political importance told in the most intimate and human ways. Innovative and first-rate journalism from start to finish.”
— Lydia Polgreen, Livingston Awards national judge

International Reporting

Renata Brito, 31, The Associated Press for “Adrift/36 Days,” a visually-driven investigation that seamlessly weaves together graphic illustrations, evocative imagery and powerful storytelling. Through meticulous detail, Brito reconstructs the journey of a boat discovered on Tobago’s coast, identifies its deceased passengers and humanizes the plight of migrants.

“Renata Brito’s investigation into a ‘ghost boat’ found in Trinidad and Tobago turned into a two-year cinematic investigation tracking the fatal journey for 43 Mauritanian immigrants trying to make their way to the Canary Islands and ultimately Europe. Despite challenges in accessing information from different governments and not knowing who might have been on this boat, she persisted. The results brought closure to families who had previously been unable to declare their sons dead. Her investigation also spurred a wider look into the ‘ghost boat’ phenomenon and resulted in Renata documenting another horrific journey of a boat at sea for 36 days and the deaths of 63 of the 101 migrants onboard.”
— Raney Aronson-Rath, Livingston Awards national judge

Mentoring Award

Kevin Merida, former executive editor of the Los Angeles Times, former editor-in-chief of The Undefeated and former managing editor of The Washington Post, was honored with the Richard M. Clurman Award for his commitment to counseling, nurturing and inspiring young journalists. In a video tribute, journalists from the Los Angeles Times, ESPN and The Washington Post talked about Merida’s encouragement of young reporters and his influence on their careers.

“Nearly every piece of journalism that changed me, challenged me and upped my game as a reporter had Kevin’s imprint and genius behind it. He is the kind of leader I now strive to be – empowering, innovative, accessible, no B.S. He showed so many of us that we could lead in newsrooms as ourselves.”
— Krissah Thompson, The Washington Post

In addition to Swisher, Polgreen and Aronson-Rath, the Livingston national judges panel includes Sally Buzbee, Sewell Chan, Audie Cornish, Matt Murray, María Elena Salinas and Bret Stephens.

More on the winners here.

Announcing the 2024-2025 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellows

Wallace House Center for Journalists and the University of Michigan are pleased to announce the Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellows for the 2024-2025 academic year. This cohort of 18 accomplished journalists from nine countries and a broad cross-section of the U.S. marks the 51st class of Fellows in our program’s history.

The Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellows will pursue ambitious journalism projects, immerse themselves in university courses and participate in weekly seminars with journalism leaders, renowned scholars, media innovators and social change agents.

“We’re honored to introduce the newest cohort of Knight-Wallace Fellows, whose expertise spans a diverse array of critical topics,” said Lynette Clemetson, Director of Wallace House. “Their projects will delve into pressing issues such as protecting vulnerable sources, navigating the implications of technological advancements and supporting reporters in hostile environments. Through their collaborative, cross-disciplinary efforts, they’re poised to make a profound impact not only within journalism but also in the communities they serve.”

In addition to the academic and intellectual resources provided, Fellows will receive $90,000 in stipend and relocation support over nine months, an increase to help the journalists in our program weather industry instability and rising housing prices. Fellows will reside in the Ann Arbor area and enjoy most seminars at Wallace House, a gift from the late newsman Mike Wallace and his wife Mary, and the program’s home base.

Wallace House’s Knight-Wallace Fellowship program is funded through endowment gifts from foundations, news organizations, individuals and ongoing contributions from funders committed to journalism’s role in fostering an informed and engaged public.

The 2024-2025 Knight-Wallace Fellows and Their Journalism Projects:

Dieu-Nalio Chery is a freelance photojournalist from Haiti. He has documented the profound beauty, searing pain and upheaval in his homeland for The Associated Press, and many of his images have become iconic records of Haiti in the 21st century. His work will illuminate the larger story of the Haitian diaspora and combat common stereotypes.

Baktygul Chynybaeva is a journalist from Kyrgyzstan who has covered healthcare, environmental and human rights issues. She will explore avenues for achieving media independence in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan despite the countries’ economic and media dependencies on Russia.

Denise Guerra is an audio journalist and co-founder of popular news podcasts who focuses on breaking news and narrative storytelling. She will examine how short-form videos affect news consumption and how both news consumers and news creators can best utilize this evolving medium.

Cassie Haynes, J.D., M.P.H., the co-founder of the nonprofit journalism organization, Resolve Philly, is a journalism strategist with executive experience in government, corporate and nonprofit sectors. She will research mechanisms that enable newsrooms to quantify and predict the impact of their reporting on the evolution of social narratives.

Fatemeh Jamalpour is an Iranian journalist who has been interrogated, arrested and jailed by the Iranian government because of her human rights-focused reporting. Her study project will examine Iranian society’s move towards secularization.

Kwanseok Jang is a political reporter with the Seoul-based daily newspaper Dong-A Ilbo. He has 15 years of experience in journalism, including three years covering presidential and administrative policy-making processes. He will explore tensions between the public’s right to information, individual privacy rights and political partisanship, with a focus on the U.S. presidential elections.

Ally Jarmanning is a senior reporter at WBUR in Boston, where she focuses on accountability stories using data and public records. Based on her work with victims of police brutality and survivors of domestic and sexual violence, Jarmanning will create a guide for working with vulnerable sources.

Kunāl Majumder serves as the India Representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists, where he documents and researches press freedom issues and advocates for journalists’ safety. He will engage with diverse experts in public policy, democracy and media studies, exploring ways to advance protections for journalists.

Zahra Nader is the founding editor-in-chief of Zan Times, a non-profit news outlet that covers women, gender-based issues and human rights in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. She will study business models and management strategies tailored to the needs of entrepreneurial journalists in exile.

Katie O’Brien is a two-time Emmy Award-winning producer at ABC News. She has reported from more than 30 U.S. states and covered dynamic and pivotal stories. She will explore multiple facets of juror biases, including studying juror selection processes and cutting-edge strategies for detecting juror biases through Artificial Intelligence algorithms.

Sarah Rahal is the lead city reporter for The Detroit News, where she covers developments within Detroit City Hall and spotlights important local issues. She will research the challenges and successes that municipalities face as they support refugees and asylum seekers as well as the impact of growing refugee communities on local politics, economics and culture.

Nada Rashwan reports on the Middle East and North Africa with a focus on politics and society in Egypt. She will investigate strategies for engaging youth and producing nuanced journalism under repressive governments, particularly in Egypt and other countries in the Middle East that actively censor the media.

Holger Roonemaa manages the investigative and fact-checking team at the daily news site Delfi Estonia. He is also an editor with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). He will develop an investigative journalism hub designed to bridge resource gaps, make use of high-tech investigative methods and bolster data-driven regional partnerships.

Davy Rothbart is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, journalist, bestselling author, creator of Found Magazine and a frequent contributor to public radio’s “This American Life.” He will explore the challenges facing wrongfully convicted inmates who lack DNA evidence and examine cases where innocence has still been established despite the obstacles.

Laura Santhanam is a health reporter and coordinating producer for polling at “PBS NewsHour.” She will study what both health professionals and journalists learned about public health messaging from the COVID pandemic and how to more effectively combat misinformation and build trust going forward.

Summer Sewell is an independent journalist who most recently worked as a contributing editor for special packages at Mother Jones. Through narrative storytelling, Sewell will trace the trajectories of two families, one black and one white, who have farmed over generations– recounting the families’ setbacks and triumphs and directly comparing their lost and gained generational wealth.

Joseph Sywenkyj is an American photographer of Ukrainian descent who has lived and worked in Ukraine for approximately 20 years. He will study how the psychology and sociology of war trauma change the identity of individual Ukrainians as well as the shared identity of the nation.

Anastasia Tsioulcas is a correspondent on NPR’s Culture desk and also contributes as a classical music critic to The New York Times, the first journalist to hold such a dual role. As a joint fellow with the University of Michigan Arts Initiative, Tsioulcas will research the effectiveness of recent diversity efforts, with a focus on Detroit and the surrounding region.

Read more about the 2024-2025 Knight-Wallace Fellows and their journalism projects »


About Wallace House Center for Journalists
Committed to fostering excellence in journalism, Wallace House at the University of Michigan is home to the Knight-Wallace Fellowships, the Livingston Awards and the Wallace House Presents event series, programs that recognize exceptional journalists for their work, leadership and potential.
wallacehouse.umich.edu

A Lifeline for Journalists at Risk

Roberson Alphonse, an investigative reporter from Haiti, survived an assassination attempt in October 2022, fleeing to Miami before finding refuge as a 2024 Knight-Wallace Fellow in Ann Arbor, where he could continue his work.

Stand with Us on World Press Freedom Day

For five decades, Wallace House Center for Journalists at the University of Michigan has been a steadfast advocate for press freedom, providing vital support for journalists at risk. Today, as we commemorate World Press Freedom Day, we urge you to join us in standing resolute in support of journalists under siege across the globe.

 

Through the Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists, we provide an academic year of support, serving as a life-saving bridge for journalists confronting crises in their home countries. From Kashmir to Mexico, Haiti to Russia, and Afghanistan to Iran, our Fellows’ stories underscore the sacrifices journalists make and the critical need for organizations like Wallace House to safeguard their pursuit of truth.

Roberson Alphonse, an investigative reporter from Haiti, is just one of many journalists targeted for his reporting in recent years and one of many helped by Wallace House. Since 2022, at least six journalists in Haiti have been murdered in retaliation for their work, making it one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists. Alphonse narrowly survived an assassination attempt in October 2022, fleeing to Miami before finding refuge as a 2024 Knight-Wallace Fellow in Ann Arbor. With the financial, structural and emotional support offered through the fellowship, Alphonse has been able to continue his vital work, writing and hosting a radio show while researching methods to safeguard journalists working in hostile environments. 

Watch Alphonse discuss his journey in the video above.

Yet, the challenges facing journalists persist. With conflicts raging in Gaza and Ukraine and autocracies tightening their grip around the world, the statistics are sobering: The Committee to Protect Journalists documented 320 journalists imprisoned around the world near the end of 2023, with nearly 20% of them serving sentences of 10 years or more in retaliation for their coverage. Ongoing wars indicate an alarming rate of death, injury and imprisonment of journalists in 2024. 

Your support can make a tangible difference in the lives of journalists like Alphonse and countless others who risk everything to inform and empower their communities. Your generosity helps us provide emergency assistance, advocate for press freedom and enable journalists to tell the truth without fear.

Join us in supporting journalists on World Press Freedom Day and beyond. Together, we can make a difference and ensure that voices of truth are not silenced. Donate now.

Thank you for standing with us.

To learn more about how to make a major gift in support of these efforts, please contact Jennifer Halseth, Financial Administrator, at [email protected]. 

Announcing the 2024 Livingston Awards Finalists

Wallace House Center for Journalists and the University of Michigan announced today the 2024 Livingston Awards finalists in local, national, and international reporting. The awards support young journalists and honor the best reporting and storytelling by journalists under the age of 35 across all forms of journalism. The finalist selections were chosen from more than 400 entries for work released in 2023.

This year’s winners will be announced on June 11, 2024, at an in-person awards ceremony hosted by Ken Auletta, media writer for The New Yorker and author.

“In a particularly difficult period of journalism downsizing, it’s an honor to recognize the ambitious work of young reporters,” said Lynette Clemetson, director of the awards and the Wallace House Center for Journalists. “This year’s finalists share a commitment to truth, accountability, nuance and empathy at a moment in which these qualities can often feel in short supply.” 

Celebrating its 43rd year, the awards bolster the work of young reporters, create the next generation of journalism leaders and mentors, and advance civic engagement around powerful storytelling. The sponsors include the University of Michigan, the Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour, Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling, the Judy and Fred Wilpon Foundation and The Joyce Foundation.

The Livingston Awards regional judges read all qualifying entries to select the finalists in local, national and international reporting. The regional judging panel includes Molly Ball, senior political correspondent, The Wall Street Journal; Meghna Chakrabarti, host and editor, “On Point” WBUR; Stella Chávez, immigration and demographics reporter, KERA Public Radio (Dallas); Adam Ganucheau, editor in chief, Mississippi Today; David Greene, co-founder, Fearless Media and Host, “Left, Right & Center,” KCRW (Los Angeles); Stephen Henderson, executive editor, BridgeDetroit and host, WDET, public radio Detroit and Detroit Public Television; and Amna Nawaz, co-anchor, PBS “NewsHour.”

The Livingston Awards national judges review all finalist entries and select the winners. The national judges are Raney Aronson-Rath, executive producer, “FRONTLINE”; Sally Buzbee, executive editor, The Washington Post; Sewell Chan, editor in chief, The Texas Tribune; Audie Cornish, anchor and correspondent, CNN; Matt Murray, former editor in chief, The Wall Street Journal; Lydia Polgreen, opinion columnist, The New York Times; María Elena Salinas, contributor, ABC News; Bret Stephens, opinion columnist, The New York Times; and Kara Swisher, podcast host, New York Magazine.

We present the 2024 Livingston Awards finalists and invite you to review their work here.

Local Reporting

  • Clare Amari, Houston Landing
  • Antonia Cereijido and Meg Cramer, LAist Studios
  • Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times
  • Shayla Escudero, Albany Democrat-Herald
  • Andrea Gallo, The Times-Picayune and The Advocate
  • Michael Korsh and Neena Hagen, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  • Jake Bittle and Anita Hofschneider, Grist
  • Samantha Hogan, The Maine Monitor
  • Daniel Huang, New York Magazine
  • Stephanie Kuzydym, The Courier-Journal
  • Chris Marquette, CQ Roll Call 
  • Mariam Elba and Paige Pfleger, WPLN Nashville Public Radio and ProPublica
  • Nell Salzman, Chicago Tribune
  • Ivy Scott, The Boston Globe
  • Brenna Smith, The Baltimore Banner 
  • Salina Arredondo, Jana Cholakovska, David Leffler and Savanna Strott, Public Health Watch
  • Agnel Philip, Mollie Simon and Isabelle Taft, Mississippi Today and ProPublica
  • Makenzie Huber and Annie Todd, South Dakota Searchlight and Sioux Falls Argus Leader

 National Reporting

  • Akbar Shahid Ahmed, HuffPost
  • Ethan Bauer, Deseret Magazine
  • Hannah Beckler, Business Insider
  • Matt Drange, Business Insider
  • Brittany Gibson, Politico
  • Allison Behringer and Lila Hassan, KCRW Public Radio (Southern California)
  • Astead W. Herndon, The New York Times
  • Vivian Ho, The Guardian US
  • Kenny Jacoby, USA Today
  • Ava Kofman, The New Yorker co-published with ProPublica
  • Julia Lurie, Mother Jones
  • Kirsten Berg, Alex Mierjeski and Brett Murphy, ProPublica
  • Aneri Pattani, KFF Health News
  • Brianna Sacks, The Washington Post
  • Lauren Caruba and Ari Sen, The Dallas Morning News in partnership with the San Antonio Express-News
  • Richard Sima, The Washington Post
  • Talmon Joseph Smith, The New York Times
  • Margo Snipe, Capital B

 International Reporting

  • Lynzy Billing, Inside Climate News and New Lines Magazine
  • Nick Bowlin, The Drift
  • Ali Breland, The New Republic
  • Renata Brito, The Associated Press
  • Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald
  • Rachel Fobar, The Guardian US in partnership with The Fuller Project
  • Julia Love, Bloomberg Businessweek
  • Pete McKenzie, The New York Times
  • Kunle Adebajo and Mansir Muhammed, New Lines Magazine and HumAngle
  • Zahra Nader, The Fuller Project and The Guardian US in collaboration with Zan Times
  • Nicolas Niarchos, The Nation
  • Anastacia Galouchka and Siobhan O’Grady, The Washington Post
  • Andrei Popoviciu, In These Times
  • Cape Diamond and Rebecca Tan, The Washington Post
  • Chris Walker, 5280 Magazine
  • Jessie Williams, TIME Magazine in partnership with The Fuller Project 

More on the finalists’ work and links to watch, listen and read here.

University of Michigan Arts Initiative and Wallace House Announce Inaugural Arts Journalism Fellow

ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan Arts Initiative and the Wallace House Center for Journalists are pleased to announce Anastasia Tsioulcas, Culture Correspondent for NPR, as the inaugural Knight-Wallace Arts Journalism Fellow.

This fellowship marks the latest collaborative effort from the Arts Initiative to expand access to the arts on campus and strengthen the arts ecosystem nationally and across southeast Michigan. As a Knight-Wallace Arts Journalism Fellow, Tsioulcas will actively engage in the Arts Initiative, collaborating with artists-in-residents and arts organizations to enhance learning, arts research and the campus experience for students.

Drawing from her extensive journalism background, Tsioulcas will lead a series of student workshops for budding arts journalists. Modeled after sessions she led at Stanford University, the workshops will help students develop their skills in arts journalism and explore their creative potential. Additionally, Tsioulcas will mentor students in crafting compelling short-form journalism for social media and other digital platforms.

“The broad, enthusiastic response to this new partnership between U-M’s Wallace House and the Arts Initiative has demonstrated the vital importance of supporting arts journalism in this moment,” said Mark Clague, Interim Executive Director of the Arts Initiative. “Welcoming Anastasia as our first fellow opens up a host of opportunities to connect our campus to the community and to inspire our students to engage in arts criticism that addresses urgent cultural issues and social themes.”

Anastasia Tsioulcas is a correspondent on NPR’s Culture desk and classical music critic at The New York Times, the first journalist to hold such a dual role. Her reporting focuses on music at the intersection of culture, politics, economics and identity. Previously at NPR Music, she curated episodes of the Tiny Desk concert series, hosted live events, and created video shorts. Tsioulcas has reported globally from Africa, Asia and Europe. Prior to NPR, she was a reporter and critic for such publications as Gramophone and Billboard. A trained classical musician, she holds a B.A. in comparative religion from Barnard College, Columbia University.

As a Knight-Wallace Arts Journalism Fellow, Tsioulcas will delve into Detroit’s classical music scene, researching the effectiveness and outcomes of efforts to diversify both performers and audiences. Since 2020, nationwide, classical music institutions and presenters have reshaped their offerings to appeal to more diverse audiences. Drawing inspiration from the university’s own innovative programming, Tsioulcas will track initiatives and performances in Detroit and the surrounding region and examine how well these programs tackle systemic challenges and opportunities for growth.

“I’m thrilled and honored to have been selected for this fellowship,” Tsioulcas said. “It’s a unique opportunity to look holistically at the evolution of classical music programming, and to share what I learn with students, NPR’s audiences, and the broader public.”

Tsioulcas will be a member of the 51st Knight-Wallace Fellowship class and participate in bi-weekly Wallace House seminars, cohort-based workshops and training, and international travel to bring context to the economic and social forces shaping news coverage.

“This partnership with the Arts Initiative comes at a critical time when staff positions for arts reporters have all but disappeared in American journalism. We’re making an intentional statement about the importance of arts coverage in a healthy journalism ecosystem,” said Lynette Clemetson, director of Wallace House Center for Journalists. “Reporting that fosters engagement with artistic expression is as vital to society as reporting on any other pillars of our communities or public institutions.”

The Knight-Wallace Fellowships offer accomplished journalists access to the rich resources at U-M to pursue ambitious projects. From tackling pressing newsroom challenges, to digging into research for a long-term reporting project or developing a journalism venture, Fellows undertake a range of projects aimed at advancing the profession and fostering an informed and engaged public. The full class of 2024-25 Knight-Wallace Fellows will be announced in May.

Tsioulcas says she is eager to become part of the U-M community, to immerse herself in the vibrant arts ecosystem at the University of Michigan and to share her insights with the next generation of arts journalists.

Read the original announcement about this inaugural fellowship.

About the Wallace House Center for Journalists

Wallace House Center for Journalists at the University of Michigan is committed to fostering excellence in journalism. We are home to programs that recognize, sustain and elevate the careers of journalists to address the challenges of journalism today, foster civic engagement and uphold the role of a free press in a democratic society. We believe in the fundamental mission of journalism to document, interpret, analyze and investigate the forces shaping society.

About the Arts Initiative

The U-M Arts Initiative seeks to illuminate and expand human connections, inspire collaborative creativity, and build a more just and equitable world through the arts. It is a University-wide endeavor to make the arts central to U-M’s identity and mission.

Wallace House Presents An Evening with Kara Swisher and Mary Barra

6 PM | Monday, Mar. 18, 2024

Rackham Auditorium
915 E Washington St

Free and open to the public.

Register for this event.
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updates and reminders.

This is an in-person event. The event will also be livestreamed here.
Seating is on a first-come basis.

Watch the video recording here.

Join us for a special evening with journalist Kara Swisher and CEO of GM, Mary Barra, as part of the continuing series “Democracy in Crisis: Views from the Press.”

Award-winning journalist Kara Swisher has interviewed nearly every consequential innovator and tech entrepreneur working today. Her new memoir, “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story,” is an insider’s tale of success, failure, hubris and optimism. As Detroit gains influence in technology and the EV revolution, Swisher sits down with Mary Barra, chair and CEO of General Motors, to discuss her new book and explore the dynamic interplay of legacy companies, innovation, strategic bets on the future, and tech’s potential to solve problems and not just create them.

Book signing following the event
Swisher’s newly released book, “Burn Book,” will be available for purchase at the event. The author will stay for a short book signing after the program.

About Kara Swisher

Kara Swisher is the host of the podcast “On with Kara Swisher” and cohost of the “Pivot” podcast with Scott Galloway, both distributed by New York Magazine. She was also the co-founder and editor-at-large of Recode, host of the “Recode Decode” podcast, and co-executive producer of the Code Conference. She was a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times and host of its “Sway” podcast and has also worked for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. Swisher has served as Livingston Awards judge for Wallace House since 2014. “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story” is her third book.

About Mary Barra

Mary Barra is Chair and Chief Executive Officer of General Motors. Prior to becoming CEO, Barra served as GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, and as senior vice president, Global Product Development. In these roles, Barra and her teams were responsible for the design, engineering and quality of GM vehicle launches worldwide.

Co-Sponsors

Gerald R. Ford School
U-M Democracy & Debate
U-M School of Information

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