Blog Post

A Journey to the Source: Reporters in South Africa Learn How and Where to Find People Behind the Stories

Stretching across a broad expanse of wilderness along South Africa’s Eastern Cape, the Transkei is the region set aside for the Xhosa people by the old apartheid regime, ostensibly as an experiment in black self-governance. It is also the birthplace of some of South Africa’s greatest freedom fighters, among them Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Thabo Mbeki.

After Rio+20, the Role of Journalists is Even More Important

At the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, I came prepared to learn about new challenges journalists around the world will face as they try to find accurate information about environmental and development issues. As a Knight International Journalism Fellow, I also came armed with some practical approaches for addressing these new challenges – at least here in the Amazon region where my work is based.

Digital Map Brings Change for Good: A Reason to Celebrate in Panama

One of the most important goals of the Knight International Journalism Fellowships Program is to produce impact that benefits society. I think we have done that in Panama. In the two years since we launched Mi Panama Transparente, the digital map has provided a platform that helps journalists and citizens track crime and corruption across the country.

InfoAmazonia: A Visual and Graphic Exploration of the World’s Largest Rainforest

I am thrilled to announce that InfoAmazonia, a data and mapping platform focusing on the largest rainforest on the planet, launched on Sunday at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. As a Knight International Journalism Fellow working to help reporters here in Brazil use data to track deterioration of the Amazon, this is a key component of my work and an exciting step.

India's WMA Graduates Prepare for Work in Newsrooms of the Future

I felt so proud the other night when an email landed in my Blackberry saying one of our students had been shortlisted for a competitive internship with one of India’s biggest production houses. Out of 10 interns, five have been offered full-time jobs and will get to work on a range of assignments – from National Geographic documentaries to reality TV series.

India’s media industry is expanding at a rapid pace and nothing gives me more pleasure than helping students from the World Media Academy Delhi find jobs.

Little Cause for Mother's Day Celebrations in Rural Mozambique

This weekend, as many nations prepare to celebrate Mother's Day, Mozambique released the figures from its latest demographic health survey. The figures show a climbing birth rate and -- particularly for women in rural areas -- limited access to maternity care or clean, well-equipped health clinics.

Citizen Journalism Advances Democratic Citizenship in Rural Indonesia

On 25 November 2011, Adrianus Akid, an indigenous farmer in a rural Indonesian village, sent a text about a damaged bridge to RuaiSMS. RuaiSMS is a mobile news service that turns cell phones into a new communication channel for indigenous people in West Kalimantan, including Sungai Enau, about 12 miles from Pontianak, the capital city of Indonesia’s West Kalimantan Province.

Behind the Numbers: Reporter Puts a “Face” on TB in Ethiopia

Reporting on tuberculosis (TB) has always been of particular interest to Tesfamichael Afework, one of the press officers at the Federal Ministry of Health in Ethiopia. He has done several stories about TB in the past, but not like this one. He is now compiling a story on the results of a nationwide population-based “TB Prevalence Survey” that aims to determine just how widespread the disease has been here in Ethiopia.

SXSW and ICFJ: Eye-Catching Technologies Help Media Engage and Track Information

I attended this year’s South By Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSWi) to interact with industry leaders and explore interactive technologies we could use to help people in developing countries access and share information in new ways.

For the unfamiliar, SXSWi is a five-day extravaganza of panels, parties, free food, meetings planned and moments serendipitous, accelerators, keynotes and one massive tech trade show. Few events bring together such an amazing array of mobile and digital thinkers and innovators.

In the Works: A Mobile App to Help Jordan's Farmers

Tomato farmers all over Jordan face a daily challenge. Should they collect their daily crops and send them to the central vegetable markets without knowing the market availability or price? If there is a big stock of tomatoes in that market, high supply and stable demand reduce the prices. Sometimes there aren't enough buyers and the produce goes to waste. Since there are no tomato processing facilities in Jordan, the result is a direct loss to Jordanian farmers.