Program News

Understanding the Need for Cybersecurity in African Journalism

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), over the past two decades 780 journalists worldwide were murdered while reporting or investigating stories. Many used digital tools in their daily work, which exposed them to cyber threats as well.

This trend is reflected in a recent CPJ report indicating that 109 out of the 199 journalists jailed last year worked online.

The Biggest Mistake a News Startup Can Make: Not Hiring a Web Editor

There has been a surge in news organizations over the last 10 years. The advent of digital publishing has led to startups covering everything from general news to the smallest of niches you can imagine. For years, these new organizations have tried to model themselves after their big brothers. This works out, sometimes. Other times budget constraints, inexperience and sheer practicality overwhelm and undercut important structural and business decisions.

The biggest and most oft-repeated mistake that I see these new groups making is ignoring the desperate role of a web editor.

NewsU International launches online multimedia course in Persian

Persian-language journalists interested in learning more about new media can enroll in a free online course.

NewsU International, a partnership between the Poynter Institute and the International Center for Journalists, has launched an online multimedia training course.

The self-directed course, called Five Steps to Multimedia Storytelling aims at providing participants with the skill and knowledge to produce multimedia stories.

Personal Finance course participants publish articles, win awards

By Isabel Morales

A total of nearly 30 minority journalists took part in two personal finance courses online this spring and summer, using the training format that the International Center for Journalists sees as increasingly popular and useful among working media.

The journalists, all working at American media outlets, participated in the English and Spanish-language courses designed to advance the financial reporting in minority media. In six weeks of instruction and six weeks of mentorship, they tackled personal finance topics that included: credit, lending, consumer fraud, housing and mortgages, retirement planning, and investing.

Syrian journalist, an ICFJ Anywhere veteran, creates magazine

By H.J. Cummins

Starting a magazine is an ambitious project at any time. But, as chance would have it, Syrian journalist Nahed Al Ali launched hers in the midst of the “Arab Spring.”

Call for Nominations: Knight International Journalism Awards

Each November, the International Center for Journalists honors outstanding colleagues with the Knight International Journalism Award at our annual gala in Washington, D.C. We’re now seeking nominees who, despite difficult circumstances, produce pioneering news reports or innovations that have great impact. Candidates can be reporters, editors, technologists, media managers, citizen journalists or bloggers. Please send in your nominations by Wednesday, Feb.

Burmese Journalists Get a Close-Up View of U.S. During Midterm Elections

A group of Burmese journalists got a first-hand look at American politics, journalism and life when they observed and reported on the U.S. midterm elections in Louisiana and North Carolina.

The two-week tour was part of an ICFJ program designed to expose the 15 visiting journalists to U.S. coverage of elections ahead of Burma’s 2015 general elections.

Nicaraguan newspaper engages youth with multimedia coverage of endangered forest

In Nicaragua, an innovative report on the degradation of an environmental treasure has sparked the public, especially the youth, to take notice.

The story, El ocaso de Bosawás (The Decline of Bosawás), published by Confidencial newspaper in April, is a milestone report on the devastation of Central America’s largest tropical forest, the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, in northern Nicaragua. The paper told the story through a diversity of multimedia elements, using new technologies and narrative tools.

Journalists from Africa, Asia and Europe Win Climate Change Reporting Grants

Three journalists from Africa, Asia and Europe have been selected to receive $1,000 reporting grants to cover climate change as part of the ICFJ-United Nations Foundation Climate Change Journalism Fellowship program.

The winners are Jessica Camille Aguirre of Deutsche Presse-Agentur in Berlin, Madison Park of CNN International in Hong Kong, and Dickson Ng’hily of The Guardian Newspaper in Tanzania. They were among 10 journalists who had been selected to participate in a daylong Virtual Climate Change Fellowship on Sept. 3.

Journalists from BRIC Countries Win ICFJ Health Reporting Contest

Four reporters from BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) won ICFJ’s 2014 Global Health Reporting Contest for outstanding coverage of maternal and child health issues. The journalists work for news organizations that reach a combined audience of more than 11.5 million.

The winners will be recognized for their reporting at an Awards Dinner on Sept. 22 at The New York Times Headquarters.