ICFJ Knight Fellowships

These Digital News Startups Show Us What's Possible for Independent Media

When El Surti first began publishing hard-hitting visual journalism five years ago, it quickly developed a loyal base of followers in Paraguay drawn to the startup’s novel approach to storytelling. El Surti wasn’t just providing independent, visually compelling coverage on corruption, disinformation and more – it involved audience members as collaborators along the way.

Advice for Journalists Heading into 2022, from ICFJ Knight Fellows

Journalists globally faced yet another challenging year reporting on today’s pressing issues. With the world still navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, reporters have stepped to the plate to cover the virus’ variants and debunk misinformation around the vaccines. They have also kept readers informed about crises like the January 6 insurrection in the U.S., and the Taliban recapture of Afghanistan, among many others. They’ve done all this amid escalating press freedom crackdowns, from Belarus and Myanmar to Nicaragua and Hong Kong. 

Working with Data? Here's How to Verify Your Sources and Numbers.

The year 2020 wasn’t just dominated by the pandemic. It was also a year of open data. 

Many health-related organizations published daily and real-time updates about the spread of the virus around the world, circulating an unprecedented amount of numbers and figures. The challenge for journalists has been to analyze this information accurately, and communicate their findings to the public effectively.

How an ICFJ Knight Fellow’s Team Investigated the Peruvian Vaccine Scandal

When Peru’s Congress received access to the full list of those secretly vaccinated, the investigative health site Salud con Lupa (in English, “Health Under a Magnifying Glass”) delved deeper. Many names sounded familiar to the journalists working for the outlet. “We knew many of these people even from before the scandal broke out. They were sources to many journalists. They were thought leaders and medical advisors in the Peruvian media,” ICFJ Knight Fellow Fabiola Torres said in an interview with IJNet.