The 37th Graham Hovey Lecture: Sorting Immigration Facts from Fiction and the Power of Local Reporting Amid National Politics

Q&A with Mazin Sidahmed of Documented

Mazin Sidahmed is co-executive director of Documented, an independent, non-profit newsroom dedicated to reporting with and for immigrant communities in New York City. He was a 2021 Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellow during the Covid-19 pandemic. Sidahmed returned to Wallace House in September to deliver the 37th annual Graham Hovey Lecture. Before the event, he spoke with Lynette Clemetson, director of Wallace House, about starting Documented.

Clemetson: You describe Documented as a community-driven news organization. What’s the difference between community-driven news and local news?

Sidahmed: When you’re community-driven, you’re
thinking about what kind of news and information will serve your local community best. How can we be good neighbors and actually make this a better place for all of us to live? To accomplish that, we have to listen and ask the community what they need from us and let those needs drive our decision-making, as opposed to business incentives driving our decisions.

In a city like New York, how did you determine which communities to serve and how to reach them?

We were super naive at the start. We thought the only reason the publications we’d worked at previously weren’t reaching low-wage immigrants, or the immigrants who were at the center of the stories, was that those publications weren’t translating their stories. We thought that if we just translated, published and tweeted out our stories, everyone would find them.

And when you realized that wasn’t going to work, what did you do?

We actually went to Spanish-speaking communities in New York City — predominantly immigrant Spanish- speaking communities — and asked them: “Where do you get your news? What kind of news and information do you want? What kind of news and information would be useful to you?” That’s what led us to build our first news product, our WhatsApp news service.

And now you publish in Spanish on WhatsApp. And you also publish in Chinese on WeChat, and in Haitian Creole on Nextdoor. That’s very tailored news delivery to specific communities. How has that changed your editorial structure?

In order to get the model to where we needed it to be, we created a newsroom role called community
correspondent. It’s part reporter, part product manager, part community engagement. Our Spanish-speaking community correspondent spends about a third of his day on WhatsApp replying to people’s messages, hearing from people, trying to understand their interests, replying to their questions and
bringing those insights into editorial meetings. So if a bunch of people say they had issues with their utility bills, he’ll report a story on that.

I imagine it’s not the kind of journalism you thought you’d be doing when you started.

It took a lot of soul-searching to get to where we let the communities lead on what they wanted us to do. The things that I’ve been trained to reach for or valorize were not necessarily aligned with what the community wanted. But when we actually listened to the community, the readership went up. People read those stories. They were shared and had traction in the communities we wanted to reach.

You’ve also done some deeply meaningful investigative work, including an investigation with ProPublica that uncovered more than 13,000 wage theft cases, totaling more than $203 million in stolen wages, from more than 127,000 New York workers.

We did a listening tour, and every community group that we went to speak to wanted to talk about wage theft. That was the problem that was at the top of people’s minds. So [my co-founder] Max Siegelbaum thought, “How can we put our investigative muscle toward creating something useful to the community?”

He decided to create a database of all the companies in New York state that had been convicted of stealing wages. He thought it would be straightforward for the state to give him the names of the companies. It ended up being a four-year lawsuit against the New York State Department of Labor. Our stories led to legislation introduced in the New York State Legislature that uses our database to set guidelines for how wage theft should be prosecuted. So that’s an example of how you go from listening to a community to powerful investigative journalism.

You applied for and received the fellowship during the Covid-19 pandemic. How did the fellowship help you move forward with your work?

I was at that stage that most founders get to when they realize they really need to focus on the business and operation side. There’s this dream, you know, that you’ll hire a person so you can do the fun stuff you always dreamed of doing. You’ll hire someone to be the adult in the room and take care of the business and the operations. But you quickly realize that no one can speak as authentically to your work as you can, and you can’t give up those decisions to an outside party. It became clear to me — maybe even a year before I started the fellowship — that I should take on that role. But I was in denial because it felt like the end of my journalism career, and I wasn’t ready to do that yet.

A September tradition at Wallace House: More than 200 guests gathered in the Wallace House gardens to hear Mazin Sidahmed deliver the 37th Hovey Lecture.

Did the need to focus on the business side of Documented lead to an identity crisis?

Yeah. I was having an identity crisis that year going into the fellowship. Having that space and time and the community of other Fellows to talk through what this might mean for me, to reflect on it and hear from other people who have gone through similar journeys and transformations helped me. And a lot of my long conversations with you. It made me come to terms with the fact that it’s what Documented needed. And it’s something I’m good at, and that’s okay.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about starting a community-focused news organization in Ohio, Indiana, or somewhere very removed from the networks and resources in New York?

Start by fully understanding the problem that you’re trying to solve. If you have an inherent feeling of what your community needs, go out, make a case and try to prove it. Find somebody who has a skill set different from yours, someone who complements you in some way, and build together. Then, find a community of other folks who are doing a similar thing. Building community with other leaders around the country will help you get through the hard times. Always keep your North Star, and keep in touch with the people who will be impacted by your work.

Mazin Sidahmed is a 2020 Knight-Wallace Fellow.

This interview appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of the Wallace House Journal.

Engaging Gen Z in the Era of Algorithmic News Consumption

Lessons from a Knight-Wallace Fellow

Over time, I’ve become increasingly enthralled by how news reaches people. As the media landscape has changed, so have the ways people engage with news. Rather than fight a losing battle to keep news consumers where they were, I’ve followed their transition from print to digital, from static images to short-form videos. These shifts dictated my path from photographer to photo editor, to social media director at National Geographic, and, recently, to Knight-Wallace Fellow.

While working at TIME and National Geographic, I noticed a problem. We knew which content performed well on social media but didn’t fully understand what brought the content through the platforms’ algorithms and into users’ feeds. The issue wasn’t just who liked our content but who never got to see it. This disproportionately affected younger generations, who are the future of social media and the future of journalism.

They receive most of their news from social media platforms, which are served to them algorithmically by individual creators — not traditional news sources. Younger audiences no longer actively choose their news; instead, algorithms largely choose it for them.

What better place to try to tackle this issue than a campus full of Gen Z students? Early on, the Wallace House staff connected me with professors at the University of Michigan School of Information: Sarita Schoenebeck, Cliff Lampe and Paul Resnick. I started with general coursework but soon focused on marketing and leadership at the Ross School of Business. This helped me better understand the intersection between business and tech within the media landscape.

When I wasn’t taking business classes or attending Wallace House seminars, I collaborated with Professor Resnick to study students’ social media habits. Rather than asking students about their social media usage, we had them share news-related videos from their feeds. What I found surprised me — in ways both discouraging and hopeful.

Josh Raab with fellow students at the University of Michigan School of Information.

Time and again, I’d been told that young people don’t care about news, that social media is rife with misinformation, and that little can be done about it. While some of that is true, here are a few of the findings that changed my thinking:

  • Young people care about the news and are getting more of it than ever on social media platforms. Seventy-five percent of the news stories students saw were new to them.
  • While misinformation and bias exist, Michigan students had a good barometer for bullshit. Trustworthiness scores for news videos rated by students and journalists were within 10% similarity on average.
  • Individual creators have surpassed traditional media accounts. Fifty-four percent of the news videos weren’t from traditional sources — and students tended to trust creators more.
  • Seventeen percent of the news-related videos covered local news — making algorithmic social media a potential resource as traditional local news outlets face sharp declines.
  • The vast majority of news videos came from accounts that students did not follow. Students said they wanted more news on social media but were unsure who to follow for reliable content.

This all presents an interesting opportunity. Younger demographics are consuming more news than ever, and it’s increasingly coming from social news creators like Dylan Page, Jessica Burbank or Weather With Peyton. These creators are effective but often lack the journalistic support of traditional newsrooms.

The stimulation of my fellowship year and the quiet calm of Ann Arbor have been replaced by a new job at Google and the cacophony of New York City sirens. Still, the fellowship year and my findings continue to inform my thinking. I remain grateful for the experience — and just a little jealous of the current fellows floating around Ann Arbor, looking forward to their next seminar or planning a group outing to a football game or expedition to Detroit. In the future, I hope to launch a platform to connect news creators with journalists, provide fact-based news, combat misinformation and better reach social media consumers.

Josh Raab is a senior manager at Google, where he heads social strategy for Android, Google Chrome and Google Play.

This article appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of the Wallace House Journal.

Dieu-Nalio Chery, Photojournalist, Finds Renewed Purpose in Documenting the Haitian Diaspora


A Knight-Wallace Press Freedom Fellow in Action

When Donald Trump used the national debate stage to amplify false claims that Haitian immigrants were eating the pets of residents in Springfield, Ohio, Haitian photojournalist Dieu-Nalio Chery felt a mix of sadness and purpose.

“It’s painful for me to do a project on Haitians here [in the U.S.],” says Chery. “Haitians [in the U.S.] are suffering a lot. They are victims of racism. They are exploited. … Sometimes, when a community is underrepresented, the media will not spend money for a journalist to dig deeper. I feel that I can help with that.”

Chery grew up in the Haitian countryside and began working in his uncle’s photo studio in Port-au-Prince in his 20s. The powerful and heroic images that Chery captured throughout his ensuing two decades as a photojournalist — including 11 years working for The Associated Press — have become iconic records of 21st-century Haiti.

Much of Chery’s photography has focused on human rights issues — struggles of civilians living in slums, grassroots protest movements, government-perpetrated massacres of political opponents, the devastating aftermath of the 2010 earthquake and other natural disasters, the cholera epidemic, United Nations relief efforts and gang violence.

Chery’s most personally meaningful photography experience occurred in 2008, in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. He accompanied a team of United Nations soldiers to save the lives of 35 children and teachers trapped in an orphanage surrounded by floodwaters. Despite not knowing how to swim, Chery waded in water up to his chin and carried children on his shoulders, one by one, to safety. He took moving photos throughout the successful rescue.

“We didn’t know if we would get out of that water,” Chery recalls. “It was crazy that day. I felt proud to be a part of that.”

Dieu-Nalio Chery standing infornt of a building displaying his photography
City of Asylum/Detroit projected Dieu-Nalio Chery’s photography onto the walls of its office building in Hamtramck, Michigan, as part of a September 2024 celebration of the Haitian community. Photo Credit: Joseph Sywenkyj

In 2019, while photographing the ratification ceremony of a newly appointed prime minister, Chery suffered an accidental gunshot wound to his jaw yet still managed to take an award-winning photograph that showed both the shooter — a Haitian senator — and the spent cartridges flying through the air.

In 2020, Chery was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news photography for a series of searing photos taken during protests across Haiti that called for the resignation of then-President Jovenel Moïse. Two years later, Chery was targeted for assassination by a powerful Haitian gang and narrowly escaped, fleeing Haiti. He and his family are now cobbling together a new life in the United States and seeking asylum. Chery has earned multiple prestigious fellowships while freelancing for major outlets, including The New York Times, Reuters and The Washington Post.

One of Chery’s ongoing goals is to write the articles that accompany his photography. In 2022, he wrote a feature story and created a photo essay for The Washington Post titled “Vodou in Photos: How Followers of an Ancient Faith Are Battling Stereotypes.” In 2023, he co-authored and photographed a piece for The New York Times about gentrification in Miami’s “Little Haiti” neighborhood.

Chery’s Knight-Wallace Fellowship project is aimed at capturing the Haitian diaspora’s diversity and resilience — highlighting how the community has “endured, grown, struggled and thrived
across generations.”

He will supplement his photography with crowd-sourced family photos, as well as images found in attics, basements, churches and university libraries.

Community engagement is central to Chery’s approach. He gave a powerful guest lecture at a recent University of Michigan symposium on Haiti. He also shared his Haitian diaspora photography at a public exhibition organized by City of Asylum/ Detroit. The event was held outdoors in a public space to ensure inclusivity and community spirit. Chery’s photography was projected onto the walls of City of Asylum’s future office building while guests enjoyed a spread of Haitian food.

Chery hopes that his next exhibition will be in Springfield, Ohio — the sudden epicenter of a vitriolic national immigration debate and the home of more than 12,000 Haitian immigrants. Chery would love to present his work to Springfield residents, as well as create a photo essay of portraits alongside quotes and text that illuminate residents’ diverse stories.

He says: “I want to make something [in Springfield] that can help unite the community.”

Some of Dieu-Nalio Chery’s photography can be viewed at visura.co/dieunalio.

This article appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of the Wallace House Journal.

Ashley Bates is the Associate Director of the Knight-Wallace Fellowships.

Zahra Nader, Afghan Journalist, Seeks Sustainability for Zan Times

A Knight-Wallace Press Freedom Fellow in Action

Zahra Nader vividly recalls the day her youngest sister was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. There was no running water in her family’s home, so Nader, then age 15, ran to get water to clean the baby — the sixth daughter in a family with only one son. She knew that the arrival of yet another girl in their male-dominated culture signaled more financial hardship for her parents. As she retrieved the water, she decided “I am going to become the boy that my family needs.”

Her loving and hardworking parents, neither of whom had the opportunity to learn to read and write, never imagined that their ambitious young daughter would become a talented writer, a New York Times reporter and a social justice-focused media entrepreneur.

Zahra Nader brainstorms with her classmates during her weekly Impact Studio workshop at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Photo Credit: Josh Jarmanning

Nader started publishing her poetry in high school and wrote articles for a local Afghan paper. At a private university in Kabul, she majored in law and continued to work in local journalism while studying English at a private center. She also attended a training program on how to work for international media outlets, after which she published her first English-language article in The Huffington Post about divorced women in Afghanistan.

She earned a meeting with The New York Times bureau chief in Kabul and ultimately landed a full-time job there. She reported primarily on women’s issues and gained access where male reporters could not — covering honor killings, “virginity test” facilities, households headed by single women and the social stigma of being a divorcee or a widow.

As the security situation deteriorated, Nader, her husband and her then-3-year-old son were forced to flee Afghanistan. They made a new home in Canada, where Nader struggled to chart a new path. A friend advised her that she now lives by: “You have finished one marathon in Afghanistan. You are starting another one in Canada. You always start from the beginning.” Buoyed by this encouragement, Nader applied for and was admitted to a master’s degree program and later a doctoral program in women’s studies at York University.

Shortly after that, the Taliban seized control of her homeland. Feeling compelled to act, Nader launched Zan Times, a non-profit Farsi and English online news site covering human and women’s rights in Afghanistan. (“Zan” means “woman” in Farsi.) She subsequently raised more than $30,000 through a fundraising campaign and earned some foundation grants. As the site’s editor-in-chief, Nader manages a team of mostly female journalists and editors, both in Afghanistan and in exile. She also leads the organization’s fundraising efforts and training programs for young reporters. All of her reporters are paid for their work.

As a 2025 Knight-Wallace Fellow, Nader is studying business models and management strategies that will create a roadmap for sustainability for Zan Times.

Zan Times highlights grassroots stories of suffering, courage and hope. One recent article, written by an anonymous reporter, chronicles strikes and protests organized by female public school teachers that partially succeeded in compelling the Taliban to reverse its decision to slash their salaries. Other articles cover ongoing brutality and executions by the Taliban, the struggles of Afghan female workers in Iran, novels and short stories written by Afghan authors and the life-threatening conditions faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in Afghanistan.

As a 2025 Knight-Wallace Fellow, Nader is studying business models and management strategies that will create a roadmap for sustainability for Zan Times. She was among 11 entrepreneurs selected for the esteemed Impact Studio program at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. There, she participates in an intensive, two-semester incubator that helps innovators and entrepreneurs “bring impactful ideas to life.”

Nader is thrilled to have the opportunity for formal business coaching and loves the program’s interactive nature and the peer-to-peer learning it inspires. She is particularly eager to learn more about fundraising and marketing, with the goal of expanding the reach of the Zan Times weekly email newsletter and finding new institutional and individual donors.

After her Knight-Wallace Fellowship, Nader plans to continue leading Zan Times while concurrently finishing her Ph.D. and writing a dissertation focused on the stories of Afghan women’s rights activists from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. She will keep tackling new challenges and running new marathons. “It’s very important to me,” Nader says. “A lot of my relatives — especially the girls and my nieces — everybody’s looking up to me.”

The Zan Times English-language website can be viewed at zantimes.com.

Ashley Bates is associate director of Wallace House Center for Journalists.

This article appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of the Wallace House Journal.

Webinar for Prospective Fellowship Applicants

Knight-Wallace alumni and webinar presenters (left to right): Candice Choi, Arnessa Garrett, Chantel Jennings, Neda Ulaby, Maria Arce, and Azi Paybarah.

Conversational Webinars for Knight-Wallace Fellowship Applicants

Wallace House Center for Journalists invites all interested Knight-Wallace Fellowship applicants to a webinar conversation on one of the three dates listed below.

Meet our Knight-Wallace alumni and discover how their year in Ann Arbor, access to a world-class university’s resources, and dedicated time to focus on a journalism project broadened their perspectives and advanced their careers. They’ll answer your questions and share insights about the Knight-Wallace Fellowship experience.

Monday, Oct. 21, Noon to 1:15 p.m. ET

  • Candice Choi, editor for The Wall Street Journal
  • Neda Ulaby, cultural correspondent for NPR

Friday, Nov. 15, Noon to 1:15 p.m. ET

  • Arnessa Garrett, editor at The Advocate/ Times-Picayune
  • Maria Arce, journalist and editor specialized in covering natural disasters

Wednesday, Jan. 15, Noon to 1:15 p.m. ET
For U.S. applicants only

  • Chantel Jennings, senior writer for The Athletic
  • Azi Paybarah, national reporter for The Washington Post

More About Our Alumni Presenters

Monday, Oct. 21, noon – 1:15 p.m. ET

Candice Choi  | Class of 2018

Candice Choi is a news editor on the finance team at The Wall Street Journal. She joined the Journal from CNBC, where she was an editor on the company and business news team. Before that, she spent most of her career at the Associated Press, where she served in a variety of roles on the business news and health and science teams. As a Knight-Wallace Fellow, she researched the social and corporate forces influencing our eating habits.

Neda Ulaby | Class of 2019

Neda Ulaby is a cultural correspondent for NPR, where she has worked in diverse roles for more than 20 years. In 2012, Ulaby also hosted the Emmy-award winning public television series, Arab American Stories. Before coming to NPR, Ulaby was the managing editor of Chicago’s Windy City Times and co-hosted a local radio program. As a Knight-Wallace Fellow, she studied the cultural history of the veil in world religions.

Friday, Nov. 15, noon – 1:15 p.m. ET

Arnessa Garrett | Class of 2019

Arnessa Garrett is the Opinion Page editor at The Advocate / Times-Picayune. She previously worked as the metro editor at the Dallas Morning News and as senior editor of news at The Daily Advertiser, a community newspaper in her hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana. As a Knight-Wallace Fellow, she explored how to rebuild trust with local audiences through digital engagement.

Maria Arce | Class of 2023 

Maria Arce is a journalist and editor who specializes in covering natural disasters. Based in Puerto Rico for seven years, she worked as the digital multiplatform director of El Vocero and a correspondent for numerous media outlets, including serving as an editorial coach at Global Press. While working for GFR Media, she led digital coverage of Hurricane María. As a Knight-Wallace Fellow, she curated emergency response strategies tailored to the needs of small newsrooms. 

Wednesday, Jan. 15, noon – 1:15 p.m. ET
For U.S. applicants only

Chantel Jennings | Class of 2020

Chantel Jennings is The Athletic’s senior writer for women’s basketball. Before joining The Athletic, she worked for almost a decade as a staff writer at ESPN.com, covering Pac-12 and Big Ten football, men’s and women’s college basketball, and NCAA track and field. As a Knight-Wallace Fellow, she developed a first-of-its-kind national survey that created a picture of the more than 600 college newsrooms across America. 

Azi Paybarah | Class of 2018

Azi Paybarah is a national reporter for The Washington Post. He previously covered politics for The New York Times and was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2021 for coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Before that, he reported for The New York Observer, WNYC and Politico New York. As a Knight-Wallace Fellow, he looked at strategies for rebuilding media credibility by reaching beyond natural audiences.

Application Deadlines

Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship applications for the 2025-2026 academic year are now open.
International applications are now closed.
The deadline for U.S. applicants is February 1, 2025.

More About the Knight-Wallace Fellowships

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.

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 Jayson Rose, senior development officer, 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.