Jayson Rose Joins Wallace House as Senior Development Officer

 

 

Wallace House at the University of Michigan welcomes Jayson Rose as its Senior Development Officer. 

In this newly created role, Rose will be responsible for developing and managing annual giving, major gifts and institutional support needed to advance the mission and programs of Wallace House. Working jointly with Wallace House director Lynette Clemetson and the Office of University Development leadership, Rose will identify gift prospects, with a focus on connecting the philanthropic interests and passions of Wallace House friends, alumni and donors to our journalism programs in meaningful ways.

“As Wallace House expands its vision, it is imperative that we respond thoughtfully to the many supporters who reach out to us with interest in helping to foster our programs and journalism’s vital role to our democracy,” said Lynette Clemetson. “Jayson’s background and expertise will allow us to develop these philanthropic interests strategically with an eye to the future. We are thrilled to welcome him.”

Rose comes to Wallace House with deep development experience. He recently oversaw fundraising efforts for three divisions within Duke University’s academic medicine fundraising entity, Duke Health Development and Alumni Affairs. Before joining Duke, Rose spent more than three years at his alma mater, Western Michigan University, as the Director of Major Gifts. In that role, he helped raise five, six and seven-figure gifts for various entities across the campus. His previous academic experience also includes time at Iowa State University, helping to lead efforts at their business school. Rose was also Associate Director of Development for Student Life at the University of Michigan and points to that experience as a turning point in his professional career. 

Rose is known for being a collaborative and compassionate fundraising professional who is committed to helping donors make a lasting impact through philanthropy.  Throughout his career, he has played a prominent role in securing resources for student scholarships, faculty support, endowed funds, planned gifts and other areas of need. Rose helped drive strategies that led to philanthropic support tied to billion-dollar-plus campaigns, including “Forever True, For Iowa State,” and, we are happy to include, “Victors for Michigan.”

Before his career in fundraising, Rose worked for Phoenix Media in Chicago and was a professional DJ lending his services to corporations and world-famous athletes and celebrities, including Derek Jeter, Michael Jordan, and Michael Bublé.

Rose earned his B.A. from Western Michigan University with a concentration in Economics. He will start at Wallace House on January 31.

 

Wallace House returns to an in-person fellowship for the 2022-2023 academic year.

After a rewarding experience with two remote fellowship classes producing innovative work and in-depth journalism on the most pressing issues of the day, Wallace House is delighted to announce the return to in-person Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowships at the University of Michigan for the 2022-2023 academic year.

The Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowships will offer an academic year of study, collaborative learning and access to the resources of the University of Michigan for selected journalists to pursue ambitious journalism projects. Fellowship support includes a $75,000 stipend over eight months, the opportunity to audit courses across the university, professional development workshops and private seminars with journalism leaders and world-renowned experts. Fellows will reside in Ann Arbor and enjoy gatherings and activities in the comfort of Wallace House.

An invitation to apply

Applications for U.S. applicants are now open and are due on February 1, 2022. We hosted a webinar on December 17 to discuss the program and application process. It’s now available to watch on-demand.

The fellowship is open to a range of journalists, including reporters, editors, data experts, visual journalists, engagement specialists, designers and developers, entrepreneurs and organizational change agents.

Staff, freelance and contract journalists are welcome to apply. All applicants must have at least five years of reporting experience and hold a U.S. passport. Our international fellowships for the 2022-2023 academic year have already been awarded to international journalists who previously committed to the program and could not participate due to the pandemic. We plan to open international applications for the 2023-2024 academic year next fall.

An academic year to pursue an ambitious journalism project

The possibilities of what a journalist can do as a Knight-Wallace Fellow are as varied as the people we accept. We’re looking for bold journalism projects demonstrating an eagerness for growth and a commitment to the field. Areas of focus can include, but are not limited to, sharpening professional skills, addressing a challenge facing your newsroom, digging into research and data for a long-term reporting project or developing a journalism venture.

 


The Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship for the 2022-2023 academic year is an in-person fellowship featuring:

  • Eight-month program of immersive study away from daily deadlines
  • $75,000 stipend for living expenses in Ann Arbor. Costs for auditing courses and participating in required workshops and fellowship activities are paid for by Wallace House.
  • Support for individual journalism projects designed to develop new skills, research a topic for long-form reporting, address a newsroom challenge or explore a journalism venture.
  • Specialized resources and access to faculty at the University of Michigan
  • Private seminars with newsroom innovators and world-renowned experts for candid, off-the-record conversations
  • Workshops to sharpen skills and leadership ability

Application Deadline is Feburary 1, 2022

Applications are now open. The deadline to apply is at 11:59 pm ET on Tuesday, February 1, 2022. 

Offers for Knight-Wallace Fellowships for U.S. applicants will be extended in early May 2022.

The 2022-2023 academic year begins Monday, August 29, 2022. Fellows are expected to arrive in Ann Arbor at least one week prior for fellowship orientation. 

 

Watch the Q&A Webinar

For more information on the fellowship and how to apply, Wallace House Director Lynette Clemetson and Associate Director Robert Yoon hosted a Q&A webinar that is now available to view on-demand.

 

Watch the Q&A Webinar now 

More about the Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowships

How to Apply

FAQs

 

Wallace House Applauds 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov

Wallace House applauds today’s announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize to journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia, courageous reporters who have risked their lives to expose abuses of power and the oppressive government regimes in control in their countries.

With authoritarianism on the rise around the world, the prize underscores the importance of protecting a free and independent press. The recognition bestowed on Ressa and Muratov is an inspiration to journalists everywhere to continue to dig, question and expose the truth.

“Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov remind all of us who believe in a free and independent press to keep fighting against the forces that work to silence and marginalize journalists,” said Wallace House director, Lynette Clemetson.

Wallace House is grateful for the opportunities in past years for our Knight-Wallace Fellows to meet with these two journalists and learn from their fearless example.


Introducing New Social Media Handles for Wallace House

Find Us Everywhere with @UMWallaceHouse

Wallace House is committed to protecting, honoring, and supporting journalists and a free press through our programs, events, and social media. Whether you’ve connected with us through the Knight-Wallace Fellowships, the Livingston Awards, or our community events, we want to engage with you and share news about all of our activities as efficiently as possible.

Now you can follow all Wallace House programs on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram under the username @UMWallaceHouse.

Please find us at our new social home. We look forward to engaging with you.


Wallace House Welcomes Afghan Journalist and His Family Back to Ann Arbor

Jawad Sukhanyar, an Afghan journalist and Knight-Wallace alum, returned to Ann Arbor.

Jawad Sukhanyar, an Afghan journalist and 2019 Knight-Wallace Fellow, returned to Wallace House and the University of Michigan on October 4, 2021, after fleeing the Taliban in Afghanistan with his family in August.

Sukhanyar will join the university as a journalist-in-residence with the Donia Human Rights Center and the International Institute. The research fellowship, sponsored by Wallace House, will commence once Sukhanyar receives full clearance from U.S. resettlement and immigration officials.

“Among the tens of thousands of Afghans now beginning the difficult process of resettling in communities across the U.S., many are journalists and support workers who faced persecution and death in their home country for being employed by American news organizations,” said Lynette Clemetson, Director of Wallace House. “It is imperative that we come together to support these journalists, and it is a privilege to be able to provide a safe and welcoming community for this family at such a critical moment.”

Sukhanyar was a reporter for The New York Times in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2019. At the time, he was the longest-serving reporter in the organization’s Kabul bureau. He came to the university in September 2018 as a Knight-Wallace Fellow, where he studied issues related to women’s rights in Afghanistan. A target of the Taliban for his reporting and his affiliation with a U.S. media outlet, Sukhanyar, and his family faced grave danger from the extremist group.

“Being in Ann Arbor brings a sigh of relief for all of us. We have so many good memories of living here. But this time it is a bittersweet experience. None of us wanted to leave Afghanistan. We built our home there. We were forced to leave, and there is no hope that we can return,” said Sukhanyar. “When we were in Ann Arbor before, I was here learning so I could take it all back to my country. Now we are here to survive.”

In July, Wallace House invited Sukhanyar to return to the university as a journalist-in-residence. Unable to secure a visa to leave Afghanistan before the collapse of its capital to the Taliban, Sukhanyar and his family escaped chaos and gunfire at the Kabul airport and hid in the city for several days before being successfully evacuated out of their home country to safety.

The evacuation, led by The New York Times, was part of an extraordinary effort to save the lives of the Afghan staff who aided their journalism over the past 20 years. In an arduous journey reported by The Times, the group of more than 100 Afghans transited through Qatar and Mexico before entering the U.S. in Houston at the end of August.

“I feel safe now. I was five years old when I lost my father in the early days of the Afghan civil war,” remembers Sukhanyar. “What I went through as a child, what I have seen in my country, I don’t want my children to experience that.”

Once immigration officials approve him to begin his fellowship at the university, Sukhanyar will study the implications of the U.S. departure from Afghanistan and new rule under the Taliban. Through his affiliation with the Donia Human Rights Center, he will engage with faculty, students, and community members interested in learning about his role as a journalist covering U.S. and Taliban influence in his home country.

“The Donia Center is honored and delighted to welcome Jawad as a journalist-in-residence. His expertise on human rights in Afghanistan, gained from years of on-the-ground reporting, will prove an extraordinary asset to students and faculty interested in human rights work,” said Steven Ratner, U-M Profesor of Law and Director of the Donia Human Rights Center.  “We look forward to connecting Jawad with people throughout the university who will be eager to hear from him.”  

After several agonizing months, the return to Ann Arbor is a homecoming of sorts for the Sukhanyar, his wife, and their four children. Now they look forward to starting school and settling into a stable routine with new friends. 


Meeting and Bonding for the First Time, Over Zoom

Kicking off the Reporting Fellowship à la Wallace House style. Reporting Fellow, Jaeah Lee introduces herself to her fellow Fellows with a presentation about her life and journalism career.

First Impressions. Deep Connections.

My first assignment as a Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellow arrived in my inbox, and I immediately dreaded it. Each Fellow was to prepare a presentation about ourselves and our journey into journalism, to give one another a sense of who we are beneath the titles, bylines, and accolades. “We’d like to hear about your personal interests and what motivates you,” the email read. We’d do this over Zoom and each get 20 minutes. Twenty minutes! Just the thought of it made me shrivel.

As journalists, we often ask people to be vulnerable with us. to share their darkest memories, their innermost selves. I knew I was pretty bad at doing this myself, to be on the receiving end of probing personal questions. The last time I opened up to a group of journalists I barely knew, I broke into tears unexpectedly, and no, it was not the pretty kind but the sort of awkward, heaving, ugly cry that only gets worse when you try to stop it.

Couldn’t we just do a little virtual happy hour and keep things safely superficial?

Lynette Clemetson, Wallace House director, and Robert Yoon, associate director, opened the Fellowship’s first week with their own intros. They blew me away, which, of course, only made me more nervous. They each prepared a polished slideshow complete with archival family photos, decades-old clips, witty headlines about their careers, and spoke candidly about some of their most vulnerable moments—the times they questioned whether they should leave the industry, the doubts and anxieties they faced in between milestones. They were honest and heartfelt and inspiring in a way I wasn’t entirely prepared for. They set the tone for the rest of us.

As each Fellow took their turn, they took us inside their family histories, the reporting experiences that changed their lives, their career highs and lows, the insecurities and challenges that lingered. Many moments took me by surprise. Several Fellows shed a tear or two while sharing some of the hardships they experienced, and I cried with them, not just because I was moved, but also because I saw pieces of myself in their stories. While watching another Fellow speak—someone I met years earlier, whom I deeply admired and considered a friend—I realized that there were so many things about her life that never came up during our many phone calls catching up and talking shop. It dawned on me then that this wasn’t your average week of introductions.

By the time I presented, I felt like I already knew the group in this strangely, beautifully, intimate way.

My 20 minutes went by in a flash. By the end of the week, I even wished we had more time. We would have stayed out talking late into the night if only we could gather in person. The feeling reminded me of these dinners I used to have with a group of girlfriends during my twenties when we’d meet at someone’s apartment and take turns sharing stories about relationships, family, work, marriage, motherhood. We called it girl church.

On the second week of the Fellowship, a Fellow joked with me that she wondered if we had all unknowingly joined an eight-month journalism therapy program. We laughed. And the truth was, whether it was going to be like therapy or church, I couldn’t wait for what was ahead.


Jaeah Lee is a 2022 Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellow and an independent journalist based in San Fransisco. Her feature stories have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The California Sunday Magazine, Vice News, Topic, Columbia Journalism Review, and Mother Jones.

The Published Journalism of the 2021 Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellows

In-Depth Reporting from our Reimagined Fellowship

Wallace House created the Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellowship in 2020 to address the remote needs of Covid-19. We challenged journalists to report on significant issues in a moment of great difficulty and change. Our expectations were high, and the first class of Reporting Fellows exceeded them. Teaming with organizations across the U.S., the Reporting Fellows’ work ranged from long-form pieces to creating a new beat for a news organization to developing innovative forms of storytelling. Here is some of the work produced and published by our 2021 Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellows.

Ana Galvañ for The Marshall Project

Lisa Armstrong, “Lost Opportunity, Lost Lives,” The Marshall Project in partnership with Mother Jones, June 29, 2021

A feature story on Covid-19 and the failure of prisons to prevent sickness and death among older inmate populations. Despite state Governors’ approval of early release for nonviolent offenders to reduce crowds in correctional facilities, Lisa Armstrong found older people – those most vulnerable to Covid-19 and least likely to reoffend – remained incarcerated.


Photograph by Arturo Olmos

Sindya Bhanoo, “You See So Much in Our Field You Wouldn’t Believe,” Texas Monthy, December 22, 2020
How the Digital Divide is Failing Texas Students,” Texas Monthly, April 8, 2021
Report Card,” for Mission Local, January – July 2021

When schools across the nation turned to distance-learning methods, Sindya Bhanoo reported on the large swaths of students left behind. She published a series for Texas Monthly on students without broadband access and bus drivers-turned-relief-workers delivering meals to the hungry in their communities. Her six-month multimedia project for Mission Local layered audio storytelling and illustration to examine the challenges faced by children during the public health crisis.


AP Photo/John Minchillo

J. Lester Feder, “They Just Launched a War,” Politico Magazine, May 9, 2021

In the aftermath of the racial justice protests against police brutality, injured protesters filed lawsuits in cities across the country. J. Lester Feder reports on the case against the City of Columbus, the violent video evidence, and the ruling condemning biased policing.


Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

Mya Frazier, “When No Landlord Will Rent to You, Where Do You Go?” The New York Times Magazine, May 2021

Mya Frazer’s deeply reported story sheds light on credit bureaus and the permanent credit underclass in the U.S. Stained by low credit scores and rejected by rental companies, thousands of Americans resort to extended-stay motels as a last – and very expensive – refuge.


Mario Koran/The Guardian

Mario Koran, “Milwaukee Was Already Failing Students of Color. Covid Made it Worse,” The Guardian US, January 27, 2021
Race Against the Clock: The School Fighting to Save the Ojibwe Language Before its Elders Pass Away,” The Guardian US, April 7, 2021

Partnering with The Guardian US, Mario Koran published a series of stories on barriers to learning in Wisconsin’s marginalized schools upended by the pandemic. From a struggling public school in Milwaukee to the state’s only Objiwe immersion school, Koran reported on the long-reaching consequences of in-person school closings and what it means for those communities.


Image by Pola Maneli

Chris Outcalt, “He Thought What He Was Doing Was Good for People,” The Atlantic, August 13, 2021

For decades, the debate on healthcare in the U.S. has focused on affordability and accessibility with little talk about the millions of unnecessary surgeries performed annually. Chris Outcalt reveals the story behind a cardiologist who carried out thousands of avoidable heart surgeries, a whistle-blower, and why doctors get away with unnecessary procedures.


Nicholas St. Fleur by STAT News

Nicholas St. Fleur, “Health Experts Want to Prioritize People of Color for a Covid-19 Vaccine“, STAT, November 19, 2020
“‘Just Utter Chaos’: A Twitter Thread Offers a Window Into the Frustrating Search for Covid-19 Shots,” STAT, January 28, 2021
An Unusual 30th Birthday Gift: Why I Got a Colonoscopy So Young — And Documented Every Step,” STAT, June 22, 2021

Nicholas St. Fleur partnered with STAT News to create a new beat on the intersection of race, medicine, and the life sciences. He published a series of stories on the vaccine rollout and how Covid-19 disproportionately affects minority communities. St. Fleur’s fellowship partnership led to a permanent staff position at STAT News, where he is now is a general assignment reporter and associate editorial director of events.


Announcing the 2021-2022 Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellows

The University of Michigan announced today the Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellows for the 2021-2022 academic year. A cohort of 11 journalists from a range of backgrounds and experiences will participate in a remote fellowship to pursue and publish in-depth reporting projects during this unique year of transition and reopening. 

Created in 2020 to support ambitious journalism and respond to the remote needs of Covid-19, the Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellowships provide an academic year of support and collaborative learning. Fellows undertake projects examining pressing public challenges including social shifts precipitated by the pandemic, the nation’s deep economic and political divisions, and persistent social justice issues surrounding race, ethnicity and inequality.

“We are proud to welcome this new group of fellows and to provide them with the resources to report and write about complex and timely issues,” said Lynette Clemetson, director of Wallace House. “The depth and range of the proposals we received this year is a testament to journalists’ ongoing commitment to illuminating people’s lived experience and the structures that shape our society.” 

Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellows will remain where they live while participating in weekly remote workshops, professional development sessions and seminars with University of Michigan faculty and experts. Two one-week Fellowship Cohort sessions at Wallace House on the University of Michigan campus are planned for the 2021-2022 academic year, subject to public health guidance.

The Reporting Fellowship is designed to benefit both working journalists and U.S. newsrooms. Each Reporting Fellow will pair with a local or national news organization to develop and publish their reporting project. The support of the fellowship allows news organizations to pursue ambitious journalism that they may not have the staff or funding to support independently.

Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellows will receive a stipend of $70,000 for the academic year plus an additional $10,000 in supplemental support to cover extra costs including health insurance, reporting equipment and supplemental travel-related expenses.

This adapted fellowship takes the place of the traditional, residential Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship for the 2021-2022 academic year.

The Knight-Wallace Reporting Fellows and their reporting projects:

Assia Boundaoui, independent journalist, Chicago, Illinois
Redacted Stories: Reexamining FBI Surveillance Records of a Muslim-American Community

Nichole Dobo, Writer and Senior Editor for Audience Engagement, The Hechinger Report, Wilmington, Delaware
A Reckoning: Higher Education and Rural America
for The Hechinger Report

Daphne Duret, investigative reporter, USA Today, Lakeworth, Florida
Breaking Silence: The Plight of the Police Whistleblower
for USA Today

Jose Fermoso, Contributing Senior Reporter, The Oaklandside, Oakland, California
Oakland’s Deadly Roadways: Reckoning with Inequities in Urban Design
for The Oaklandside

Andrea González-Ramírez, independent journalist, New York City
A Watershed Moment for Addressing Sexual Violence in the U.S. Military

Erika Hayasaki, independent journalist, Southern California
History, Hate Crimes and Police Brutality: A Tale of Black and Asian American Lives in Two Cities
for The New Yorker

Jaeah Lee, independent journalist, San Francisco, California
Medical Fact vs. Fiction in Fatal Police Encounters

Surya Mattu, Investigative Data Journalist and Senior Data Engineer, The Markup, New York City
Watching the Watchers: Investigating How Smartphone Apps Are Used to Track Us
for The Markup

Simon Ostrovsky, Special Correspondent, PBS NewsHour, New York City
Modern Mythology: How Disinformation Bends Reality and How to Stop It
for PBS NewsHour

Elizabeth Scheltens, Senior Editorial Producer, Vox Media, Columbus, Ohio
Climate Resilience in the Great Lakes Region
for Vox

Kat Stafford, National Investigative Writer, Race and Ethnicity, The Associated Press, Detroit Michigan
From Birth to Death: How Generations of Black Americans Have Faced a Lifetime of Disparities
for The Associated Press

More about the Reporting Fellows and their reporting projects »

Announcing the 2021 Livingston Award Winners

2021 Livingston Award winners (counter-clockwise from top left) Joshua Sharpe of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hannah Dreier of The Washington Post, and Chao Deng of The Wall Street Journal and 2021 Clurman Award recipient Susan Chira, editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project.

Today the Livingston Awards honor stories that represent the best in local, national and international reporting by journalists under age 35. The winning stories highlight an investigation proving the innocence of a man serving two life sentences for murder, the deadly consequences of a teenage asylum-seeker in the flawed U.S. immigration system, and early Covid reporting from Wuhan, China. The $10,000 prizes are for work released in 2020.

The Livingston Awards also honored Susan Chira, editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project with the Richard M. Clurman Award for mentoring. The $5,000 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 prize 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 Anna Quindlen, author, Matt Murray of The Wall Street Journal, Raney Aronson-Rath of FRONTLINE and Lydia Polgreen of Gimlet introduced the winners at an online ceremony, hosted former Livingston Award national judge Christiane Amanpour of CNN and PBS.

“We are always moved by the work of our Livingston Award entrants, finalists and winners. But the work published in 2020 is especially important and inspiring. Under incredibly difficult reporting circumstances, these tenacious journalists doggedly pursued work that pushed criminal justice, immigration and global public health systems – toward truth, transparency and greater accountability,” said Livingston Awards Director Lynette Clemetson. “We are proud to honor this year’s winners and we look forward to extending the reach of their work and following their promising careers.” 

Celebrating its 40th 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, Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour, the Fred and Judy Wilpon Foundation, and Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling.

The 2021 winners for work released in 2020 are:

Local Reporting

Joshua Sharpe, 33, of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for “The Imperfect Alibi,” an exhaustive re-examination of a 35-year old double murder mystery that debunked the alibi of a long-overlooked suspect and proved the innocence of a man wrongly imprisoned for 20 years.

Only very rarely does one of our stories – one of us – change the course of human events. For more than two decades, a man said that he wasn’t the person who murdered a deacon and his wife, both pillars of the local black community in Spring Bluff, Georgia. Joshua Sharpe asked the right questions, refusing easy answers and pretty much proved that man was telling the truth and was innocent. And that another man was guilty of those crimes and had gotten over for so many years with an alibi so thin that you could read a newspaper through it. – Anna Quindlen

National Reporting

Hannah Dreier, 33, of The Washington Post for “Trust and Consequences,” a portrait of Kevin Euceda, a teenage asylum-seeker fleeing Honduras, who was held in U.S. custody and required to see a therapist only to have notes from those confidential sessions turned over to ICE and used against him in court hearings.

Hannah Dreier’s series does what the best reporting can do. It leaves an indelible impression by making abstract policy and institutional decisions, human and concrete, and shows the effect they can have on real lives. Whatever one’s views on immigration, no one who reads these stories can fail to be moved outraged and informed by them. – Matt Murray

International Reporting

Chao Deng, 32, of The Wall Street Journal for “On the Front Lines in Wuhan,” a remarkable series of reports which, despite the Chinese government’s attempts to silence her, tells the complex and rapidly evolving story on the ground at the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the early stages of the crisis.

The gathering of anonymous accounts from government officials, paired so eloquently with family stories of Chinese citizens, dealing with the then mysterious outbreak. Chao Deng’s reporting amplified the voices of the citizens of Wuhan. It was, and is, vital and crucially important journalism. – Raney Aronson-Rath

Mentoring Award

Susan Chira was honored with the Richard M. Clurman Award for her newsroom commitment to counseling, nurturing and inspiring young journalists. Chira is the editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project and former deputy executive editor of The New York Times. In a video tribute introduced by Lydia Polgreen, reporters from The New York Times and The Marshall Project spoke about Chira’s influence on their careers.

Susan inspired me to follow in her footsteps and become a leader, a mentor, a coach and an editor. Looking back now I know that the most important work of my life is not the swashbuckling exploits that I enjoyed as a young foreign correspondent. Susan inspired and championed that work for sure. But more importantly, she inspired me to emulate her leadership and to be a Susan Chira for everyone who wasn’t lucky enough to work with the real Susan Chira. – Lydia Polgreen

In addition to Quindlen, Murray, Aronson-Rath and Polgreen, the Livingston national judging panel includes; Ken Auletta of The New Yorker, Dean Baquet of The New York Times; John Harris, co-founder of Politico, Clarence Page of the Chicago Tribune; María Elena Salinas, CBS News contributor; Bret Stephens of The New York Times; and Kara Swisher of The New York Times and Vox Media.

More on the winners here.

Watch the virtual ceremony here.


About the Livingston Awards

The Livingston Awards for Young Journalists are the most prestigious honor for professional journalists under the age of 35 and are the largest all-media, general reporting prizes in American journalism. Entries from print, online, visual and audio storytelling are judged against one another, as technology blurs distinctions between traditional platforms. The $10,000 prizes are awarded annually for local, national and international reporting. The Livingston Awards are a program of Wallace House at the University of Michigan, home to the Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists and the Wallace House Presents event series.

Announcing the 2021 Livingston Award Finalists

Wallace House and the University of Michigan announced today the 2021 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 50 finalist selections were chosen from more than 500 entries for work released in 2020.

This year’s Livingston Award winners will be announced at a virtual ceremony on June 10, 2021. Hosted by  Christiane Amanpour, former Livingston Award winner and judge, the event is open to everyone. Information and registration can be found here.  

“We are proud and honored to acknowledge and showcase the reporting of this year’s Livingston Award finalists, who produced exceptional works of journalism despite the numerous intersecting challenges facing the nation today,” said Wallace House Director Lynette Clemetson. “That we received more than 500 strong entries this year is testament to the conviction and dedication of young journalists to pursue stories that need to be told, especially in the most difficult times.”

Celebrating its 40th 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, Knight Foundation, the Indian Trail Charitable Foundation, the Mollie Parnis Livingston Foundation, Christiane Amanpour, the Fred and Judy Wilpon Foundation, and Dr. Gil Omenn and Martha Darling.

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, national political correspondent, Time; Stella Chávez, immigration and demographics reporter, KERA Public Radio (Dallas); Chris Davis, executive editor and Vice-President of Investigative Journalism, Gannett; David Greene, former host, “Morning Edition,” NPR; Stephen Henderson, host, “Detroit Today,” WDET; Shirley Leung, columnist and associate editor, The Boston Globe; and Amna Nawaz, senior national correspondent, 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,”; Ken Auletta, author and media and communications writer, The New Yorker; Dean Baquet, executive editor, The New York Times; John Harris, co-founder, Politico; Matt Murray, editor in chief, The Wall Street Journal; Clarence Page, syndicated columnist; Lydia Polgreen, head of content, Gimlet; Anna Quindlen, author; María Elena Salinas, contributor, CBS News; Bret Stephens, op-ed columnist, The New York Times; and Kara Swisher, executive producer, Code Conference and host of the podcasts “Sway” and “Pivot.”

We present the 2021 Livingston Awards finalists and invite you to review their work here.

Local Reporting

  • Haley BeMiller, Green Bay Press-Gazette
  • Lauren Caruba, San Antonio Express-News
  • Lakeidra Chavis, The Trace in partnership with The Chicago Sun-Times
  • Ann Choi, Rachel Holiday Smith and Will Welch, The City (NY, NY)
  • Jessica Contrera, The Washington Post
  • Courtney Crowder, The Des Moines Register
  • Andrew Ford, Asbury Park Press in partnership with ProPublica
  • Eileen Grench, The City (NY, NY)
  • Samantha Hogan and Agnel Philip, The Maine Monitor and ProPublica with support from Report for America
  • Lizzie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
  • Josh Kaplan, DCist in partnership with Spotlight DC
  • Soumya Karlamangla, Los Angeles Times
  • Ana Ley, The Virginian-Pilot
  • Nichole Manna, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
  • Jessica Miller, The Salt Lake Tribune
  • Thad Moore, The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.)
  • Bridget Read, New York Magazine
  • Eric Sandy, Cleveland Scene
  • Joshua Sharpe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

 National Reporting

  • Kenzi Abou-Sabe, Adiel Kaplan and Kit Ramgopal, NBC News Investigative Unit
  • Hamed Aleaziz, BuzzFeed News
  • Bethany Barnes, Tampa Bay Times
  • Eric Boodman, STAT
  • Sydney Brownstone, Scott Greenstone and Will James, KNKX Public Radio and The Seattle Times
  • Elizabeth Bruenig, The New York Times
  • Chabeli Carrazana, The 19th
  • Elizabeth Dias, The New York Times
  • Hannah Dreier, The Washington Post
  • Blake Ellis and Melanie Hicken, CNN
  • Katie Engelhart, The California Sunday Magazine
  • Alissa Escarce, Max Siegelbaum and Mazin Sidahmed, Documented, Latino USA and Type Investigations
  • Eli Hager, The Marshall Project in partnership with The Atlantic
  • Ellen Huet and Shawn Wen, Bloomberg News
  • Jamiles Lartey, The Marshall Project
  • Daniel Lombroso, The Atlantic
  • Alysia Santo and Elaine Sheldon, The Marshall Project in partnership with FRONTLINE and America ReFramed on WORLD Channel
  • Emily Shugerman, The Daily Beast
  • Roman Stubbs, The Washington Post
  • Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic 

 International Reporting

  • Josh Baker, FRONTLINE
  • Luisa Conlon, Gabriela Dematteis and Paola Ramos, Vice News
  • Maddy Crowell, Virginia Quarterly Review
  • Chao Deng, The Wall Street Journal
  • Caitlin Dickerson, The New York Times
  • Emily Feng, NPR
  • Ruby Gaviola, Lauryn Schroeder and Kate Morrissey, San Diego Union-Tribune
  • Claire Harbage and Kat Lonsdorf, NPR in partnership with the John Alexander Project
  • Isayen Herrera and Julie Turkewitz, The New York Times
  • Emily Keen and Isobel Yeung, Vice News
  • Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic
  • J. Weston Phippen, POLITICO

More on the finalists and links to their work »