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ournalism fellowships at Stanford began 47 years ago with a simple, powerful
idea: giving reporters and editors free run of the classrooms, libraries and minds
of a great university, which would lead to superb journalism. It has paid off, and it
will continue to.
But the challenges to journalism — and the possibilities — became greater than
anyone predicted, and that’s why we needed to do more.
So we got more ambitious. The Knight Fellowships program strives to advance the
cause of journalism and journalists by focusing on innovation, entrepreneurship and
leadership. We ask each fellow to come to Stanford with a great idea — something
they will develop that other journalists can use. Today you will get a glimpse of how
this year’s class of fellows has used this opportunity.
The 2012-13 Knight Fellows arrived at Stanford last September as strangers who
shared a commitment to journalism. They quickly found they had a talent for brain-
storming, collaborating and experimenting that set the tone for this year. And they
have prototyped, iterated and user-tested the new journalism ideas and concepts
that you will learn about today.
So don’t just sit back and enjoy the program. Lean forward, and get ready to engage
with 20 visions of journalism’s future!
James Bettinger
Director
J
July 12
2013
of InnovationAn Evening
R e - E n g i n e e r i n g J o u r n a l i s m
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RE-ENGINEERING JOURNALISM20 Visions from the 2013 Knight Fellows
Host
Dawn Garcia, managing director, John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships
Opening remarks
James Bettinger, director, John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships
2013 Fellows’ Presentations
Barbara Allen
Exploring news, history and storytelling through virtual reality.
Andy Donohue
Scratch: deepening engagement and impact in investigative reporting projects.
Mary Aviles
Vzta, an application that allows Spanish-speaking audiences to aggregate and curate news from multiple sources and formats.
Kirk Caraway
Megaphone, a tool that empowers local news media to help local businesses communicate with their customers across multiple channels.
Melissa Chan
Tips and tools for journalists fighting the good fight for digital security.
Maria Lilly Delgado
DerechoaPreguntar (Your Right to Ask), a digital platform that allows Nicaraguanjournalists and citizens to easily request information under public access laws andshare the responses publicly.
David Sarno
Using techniques from video game design to create touchable, interactive journalism stories.
Michael Lindenberger
Places, an online urban affairs magazine that uses long-form journalism to provide insight into modern cities.
Musikilu Mojeed
The Imole Project, a platform connecting Nigerian journalists to vital publicrecords and other resources for in-depth and investigative reporting.
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Mariam Semaan
Using immersive experiences and interactive design to bring stories to life with“experiential journalism.”
Break
Wilson Liévano
Introducing Animated Press, an easy-to-use-tool that provides context for complex topics.
Latoya Peterson
Exploring the potential of mobile beyond devices and interactive publicspaces.
Nuno Vargas
Creating a tool for building visual stories by using a timeline to incorporate photos,videos, datasets and other elements.
Attila Mong
Global Media Rights Watch, a free, international online press freedom kit, with a database of media laws and best practices in legislation.
Samaruddin Stewart
Using forensic tools to identify manipulation in potential news photographs.
Li Xiaoming
MemoCN, an online platform to document changes in China’s society by integrat-ing personal memories into a shared memory of a subject, a place, an event.
William McNulty
The power and future of mapping.
Adriana Garcia
Diversifying the voices in Brazil’s media ecosystem through OrbitaLAB, an ideaincubator.
Eric Westervelt
Outside the algorithm, audio-first experiments with public radio news for mobileand social platforms.
Marie-Catherine Beuth
The News Concierge, a service to help you catch up on the news in a time-efficient manner.
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JOHN S. KNIGHT JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIPSClass of 2013 Projects and Bios
Barbara Allen [email protected], [email protected] Chicago, Ill. @ba1245
PROJECT: Exploring history, news and storytelling through virtual reality.
Barbara Allen, captivated early on by relatives’ and neighbors’ storytelling, found her career in doc-
umentary work. In 1975, she earned a bachelor’s degree in communications/film and TV at
Columbia College in Chicago. She worked as an editor for NBC stations in New York and Chicago
before becoming a producer at Chicago’s PBS station, WTTW-TV, where she has worked since
1979. In 1991, she founded the nonprofit Middle Passage Productions, which produced “DuSable
to Obama: Chicago’s Black Metropolis.” The documentary won several awards, including two
regional Emmys in 2011 and a Best Documentary Award at the 2010 Nashville International Black
Film Festival.
Mary Aviles [email protected], @AvilesmVztaSan Jose, Calif.
PROJECT: An application that helps Spanish-speaking audiences aggregate and curate news from multiple sources and formats.
Mary Aviles, who grew up in a newspaper-reading household in Venezuela, was shocked when one
day, in 1989, she found blank spaces where stories were supposed to be. The Caracazo uprising
brought looting and government censorship. She studied journalism at Andres Bello Catholic Uni-
versity, writing about more political turmoil and curfews. She graduated in 1996 with a bachelor’s
degree in social communication, then went to work for Grupo Editorial Producto and Telcel Bell-
south’s first Internet portal. In 2002, she earned a master’s degree in journalism in Spanish from
Florida International University. After graduating, she was hired to manage Hispanic coverage in the
United States for Spain’s Efe News Service, where she worked until 2013.
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Marie-Catherine Beuth [email protected] journalist, @M_C_BLe Figaro, http://mynewsconcierge.comParis, France
PROJECT: The News Concierge, a service to help you catch up on the news in a time-efficient manner.
Marie-Catherine Beuth was drawn to journalism at age 14, during a two-week internship at a week-
ly newspaper for youngsters. By 19, she had her first article published in a French national publi-
cation, the adult version of the youth weekly. She went on to earn a master’s degree in media and
multimedia from Université Paris in 2003. Soon after graduating, she got a job at Le Figaro.
Because of her youth, she covered many stories about online media. It grew rapidly into a busy
beat that touched on a wide range of industries. Her news blog was adapted to a weekly radio
show on Radio France Internationale.
Kirk Caraway [email protected], @kirkcarawayweb developer/entrepreneur, http://carsonnow.orgfounder of Megafone and Carson http://getmegafone.bizNow LLC, http://www.linkedin.com/in/kirkcaraway Carson City, Nev. http://nowads.biz
PROJECT: Megafone, a tool to help local businesses communicate across the web, social media, email and online advertising in local news websites.
Kirk Caraway began his newspaper career at the age of 9 – processing film for the phototype-
setter at his parents’ Kansas weekly, The Lansing Leader. After graduating in 1990 with a bachelor’s
degree in political science and journalism from Kansas State University, Caraway worked at news-
papers in Wyoming, California and Nevada. By the age of 31, he was managing editor of the twice-
weekly North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, where he built one of the first weekly newspaper websites.
He went on to launch websites for the other five newspapers owned by the Sierra NevadaMedia
Group. In 2009, he launched CarsonNow, and in 2011, SouthTahoeNow.com.
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Melissa Chan [email protected], [email protected] Jazeera English @melissakchan
PROJECT: Digital security training and tools for journalists facing potential hacker attacks from state-sponsored entities.
Melissa Chan was selected for an internship at CNN in Hong Kong in 2005, after earning a mas-
ter’s degree in comparative politics from the London School of Economics. She also has a bach-
elor’s degree in history from Yale. She had gotten her first taste of journalism in 2003, working as
an assistant to the executive producer of ABC’s World News Tonight. In 2007, she began working
as a reporter for Al Jazeera English and in 2009 was named its China correspondent. She covered
the Olympics and earthquakes, and exposed illegal “black jails.” In May 2012, with no explanation
from China, she became the first accredited foreign correspondent to be expelled from the coun-
try in 14 years.
Maria Lilly Delgado [email protected] correspondent, Univision Network, Managua, Nicaragua
PROJECT: DerechoaPreguntar (Your Right to Ask), a digital platform that allows Nicaraguanjournalists and citizens to easily request information under public access laws and share the responses publicly, with the goal of pressing for greater transparency.
Maria Lilly Delgado entered the news business in 1992. She covered a tsunami that devastated
Nicaragua’s entire Pacific Coast and the violence that followed a decade of war, a period when
journalism was polarized between the Sandinistas and the Contras. She worked as a television news
reporter and producer for Televicentro Canal 2, a nationwide channel. She covered politics and
social movements and later took charge of TV Noticias news programs, anchoring the main evening
edition. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Central American University in 1995,
and started her own company and produced a live interview program. She has worked for the Uni-
vision Network since 2006.
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Andrew Donohue [email protected] editor, @addCenter for Investigative ReportingBerkeley, Calif. www.newschallenge.org/open/open-government/
submission/scratch-immerse-expose-solve/
PROJECT: Deepening engagement and impact in investigative reporting projects.
Andrew Donohue graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree
in journalism. He started his career writing for the San Diego Business Journal, where he broke
stories questioning the city’s handling of pension funds. He later spent a year as director of com-
munication at ILISA Instituto de Idiomas in Costa Rica, before returning to the U.S. to report for
voiceofsandiego.org. After the departure of several editors, the organization was near collapse.
Donohue and a colleague offered a plan to take over. It was accepted and he became editor. In
the years since, voiceofsandiego.org has won national reporting awards, and become a model non-
profit news organization. He was recently hired by the Center for Investigative Reporting.
Adriana Garcia [email protected] editor, @drigarciaThomson Reuters, São Paulo, Brazil (Knight Foundation Latin American Fellow)
PROJECT: OrbitaLAB, an idea incubator to diversify the voices in the media ecosystem in Brazil.
Adriana Garcia and her family fled Uruguay’s dictatorship in the 1970s. Landing in Brazil, she lost
herself in books and stories to learn everything she could about her new culture. At 14, when teach-
ers asked students to explore professions, journalism was a natural choice. She earned a bache-
lor’s degree in journalism and over the next several years wrote for various magazines. In 1999,
she joined Thomson Reuters wire service as an online editor. By 2003, she had earned a master’s
in journalism, markets and technology from the University of São Paulo. She later became Reuters’
Latin affairs reporter in Washington D.C. and New York, and returned to Brazil in 2010.
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Li Xiaoming [email protected], MemoCN; @lixiaomingmember of Editorial Board, www.facebook.com/lixiaoming0624, Boao Review www.weibo.com/lilaoming(Enlight Foundation Fellow)
PROJECT: MemoCN, an online platform to document changes in China’s society by integrating personal memories into a shared memory of a subject, a community, a place, a city or event.
Li Xiaoming has worked in radio, newspapers and the Internet, in state-run media, in more inde-
pendent state-run media and in private Internet media. His first job was at China Radio International.
In 2002, he left to run the news department at the new 21st Century World Herald. Li joined
Southern Weekend as senior editor. From 2009 to 2012, he was an editorial supervisor at Phoenix
New Media, a pioneering news portal, where he directed the blogs department. He has bachelor’s
degrees in economics from Shaanxi Normal University and inter-cultural communication from Peking
University.
Wilson Liévano [email protected] coordinator, @wlievanomultimedia, www.animatedpress.comThe Wall Street Journal Americas www.linkedin.com/in/wlievano
PROJECT: An easy-to-use tool that provides context for complex topics.
Wilson Liévano, inspired by the courage of journalists reporting on murderous drug cartels in
Colombia, he became a journalist. After graduating in 2002 from the Universidad Externado
de Colombia, he freelanced then interned with CNN en Español in Atlanta. In 2004, he earned a
master’s degree in journalism from Boston University. The following year, he took a translating/
editing job at The Wall Street Journal Americas. He took on the task of improving the edition’s web-
site, which had few stories and few readers. Readership grew exponentially and in 2008, he was
named Editions Coordinator for Multimedia.
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Michael Lindenberger [email protected] correspondent/Business, [email protected] Dallas Morning News @lindenberger
www.michaellindenberger.com
PROJECT: An online magazine of urban affairs that uses long-form journalism to decode the 21st Century City.
Michael Lindenberger’s career developed on two simultaneous paths. While working on a bach-
elors’ degree in political science from the University of Louisville in Kentucky, he did stints as man-
aging editor of The Evening News in Jeffersonville, Ind., investigative reporter at The Messenger-
Inquirer in Owensboro, Ky., and city hall reporter at The Dallas Morning News. He studied at the
Louis D. Brandeis School of Law to law school at night while working as bureau chief and state
correspondent at The Courier-Journal in Louisville. In 2006, he got his law degree, began writing
national legal affairs pieces for TIME.com, and returned to The Dallas Morning News as trans-
portation reporter. He was recently assigned to the Washington bureau.
William McNulty [email protected] Interaction designer, @wemcnGoogle
PROJECT: An online tutorial and short course to introduce and promote interactive mapping excellence to journalists.
William NcNulty made a seismic shift when he moved from analyzing data and producing field
maps on ancient earthquakes for the U.S. Geological Survey to creating graphics for newspapers.
His first map for the Washington Post was the first of its kind for that paper – a full-page, color
map of Kosovo with digital shaded relief. McNulty had gone to work for the government after grad-
uating with a degree in geography from Eastern Illinois University. Later, in an era of federal
budget tightening, he took a chance on journalism. He went on to become graphics editor at The
New York Times, and director of maps at National Geographic Magazine. He joined Google this
summer.
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Musikilu Mojeed [email protected] editor, [email protected] Times Services, @MusikiluAbuja, Nigeria www.premiumtimesng.com
PROJECT: The Imole Project, a platform connecting Nigerian journalists with vital records and other resources for in-depth reporting.
Musikilu Mojeed tackled corruption early on. In high school, he wrote about teachers taking a
shortcut through a fence – an act for which students were punished. He earned a bachelor’s
degree in communication arts at the University of Uyo, then began reporting for a series of pub-
lications in Lagos. He joined Timbuktu Media Limited in 2008 as deputy enterprise editor. In 2010,
he earned a master’s degree in journalism from City University of New York, then returned to Nige-
ria to become managing editor of Premium Times in Abuja. His passion for uncovering corrup-
tion continued. A series on fraud in the oil sector won him the Editor’s Courage Award from the
Forum for African Investigative Reporters.
Attila Mong [email protected], @attilamongBudapest, Hungary attilamong.weebly.com(Lyle and Corrine Nelson International Fellow)
PROJECT: An online “press freedom kit” with a database of media laws, best practices in legislation and a platform for journalists and media advocates.
Attila Mong, a radio broadcaster and columnist, made a difference in journalism by remaining silent.
In 2010, as host of the Hungarian Public Radio’s flagship morning news program, he silenced his
show for a full minute to protest a new law preventing journalists from commenting on the
government. That minute became a YouTube hit and media story, pressuring the government to
loosen restrictions. Mong left the station but continued to write an opinion column, co-found a
business web portal, edit magazines and help create the Mertek Media Institute to advocate for a
common policy for press freedoms in the European Union. He has a bachelor’s degree from the
College for Foreign Trade in Budapest.
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Latoya Peterson [email protected] digital producer, @latoyapetersonThe Stream, latoyapeterson.tumblr.comAl Jazeera America racialicious.com
latoyapeterson.com
PROJECT: Exploring the potential of mobile beyond devices and interactive public spaces.
Latoya Peterson started her career on the web, writing for an online community devoted to anti-
racism, and often critiquing media coverage. She studied global business and public policy at the
University of Maryland, worked in public relations and market research and in communications
for a nonprofit promoting a more socially and ecologically balanced society. But her writing pro-
pelled her into journalism. She has been a Poynter Institute Sensemaking Fellow who comments
on the media. Her work has been published in Slate, Spin, Vibe, The American Prospect, The Atlantic
online, Jezebel.com and several feminist anthologies. She started writing for Racialicious.com in
2008, and is now its owner and editor. She was recently hired by Al Jazeera.
David Sarno [email protected], @dsarnoLighthaus Inc. lighthaus.us
PROJECT: Touchable, interactive “reality simulations,” using video game designto tell engaging stories in journalism, education and health care.
David Sarno began his career crafting a daily online digest of the nation’s newspapers. He later
covered the rise of digital culture as a columnist and reporter for the Los Angeles Times, where
he worked from 2006-2013. Previously, he worked at the Huffington Post, helping build the
media giant in its infancy, and wrote the now-retired “Today’s Papers” column for Slate.com. He
earned his master’s degree in English and fiction writing from the University of Iowa in 2004. His
undergraduate degree is in computer science, from Yale.
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Mariam Semaan [email protected] producer, @semaanmariamBeirut, Lebanon
PROJECT: An innovative “experiential journalism” solution based on immersive experiences, creative storytelling and interactive design.
Mariam Semaan followed her interest in human rights and women’s issues in the Arab world
through college and into her career. She researched these issues while earning degrees in law
and journalism from St. Joseph University in Beirut. And she learned about them firsthand, as the
night-shift editor supervising 15 pressmen at L’Orient-Le Jour newspaper. She also experienced
government censorship while covering uprisings against the pro-Syrian government in Beirut for
the state-owned Radio Liban. So, she seized a chance to help adapt Elle magazine to a Middle
Eastern female readership. She later joined RK Productions, where she was executive producer
of a weekly television interview program and RK’s production chief.
Samaruddin Stewart [email protected] consultant, Budapest, Hungary www.linkedin.com/in/samaruddin/
PROJECT: Research the use of image forensic tools to identify manipulation in potential news photographs.
Samaruddin Stewart started his career ahead of the digital curve. His first job was creating digital
photographs, streaming video and associated multimedia for The Arizona Republic’s website –
an innovative position in 2000. He covered sports and dozens of top news stories using Canon’s
first digital video camera. He later worked for Agence France-Presse and America Online. Over
six years, he moved up the ranks to direct photo coverage for AOL News, Sports, and Entertain-
ment. He has a master’s degree in communication from his alma mater, Arizona State University,
and in business administration from the Central European University in Budapest.
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Nuno Vargas [email protected], [email protected] and consultant, @nunovargasPorto, Portugal https://nuno-vargas.squarespace.com/
PROJECT: Creating a collaborative tool that enables newsrooms to quickly create stories by using a timeline to incorporate photos, videos, datasets and other elements.
Nuno Vargas began pondering how people understand words, symbols and images differently
during college courses in photography, sound recording, video, creative writing and commu-
nication theory. What he learned became integral to his career in multimedia. He has designed
interactive products for news and education organizations in Barcelona, and helped redesign the
website of one of Portugal’s biggest newspapers. He also worked for Portugal’s state-owned news
agency LUSA as an in-house multimedia consultant. His work involved the conception, design
and content of multimedia pieces, infographics, websites and mobile apps as well as training staff
on data-driven journalism and multimedia. He has a master’s degree in multimedia and digital
design and an Advanced Studies Diploma in typography from the University of Barcelona.
Eric Westervelt [email protected], [email protected] News @EricNPR
PROJECT: Outside the algorithm: curated, audio-first experiments with public media content for mobile devices and social media.
Eric Westervelt walked into journalism during a college travel break that took him by foot, by train
and by hitchhiking through Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and the Western Sahara. He landed in
Tunisia just after a coup. In Algeria, he visited rebels challenging Morocco’s occupation of West-
ern Sahara. Ever curious, he talked to all kinds of people — and took notes. After graduating from
Reed College in Portland, Ore., with a degree in American Studies, he freelanced until he was hired
by New Hampshire Public Radio. In 1996, he joined NPR, where he covered national security and
the Pentagon, and was a correspondent Jerusalem and later Berlin bureau chief. At his request, he
recently took on a new role covering education reform, innovation and policy. He will be based in
California.
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About the Knight Fellowships
The John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships is an ambitious program at Stanford
University that fosters journalism innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership. Each
year, the program brings together 20+ outstanding journalists and journalism entre-
preneurs from around the world to pursue their ideas for improving the quality of
news and information reaching the public. Fellows spend an academic year lever-
aging the vast resources of Stanford University and Silicon Valley to broaden their
skills and perspectives through classes, seminars and research while developing a
project of their choice to benefit journalism and journalists. The director is James
Bettinger, the managing director is Dawn Garcia and the innovation director is
Pam Maples.
Watch our site for videos of the Fellows’ presentations and the latest on our program:
http://knight.stanford.edu/
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BETTINGER GARCIA MAPLES
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Videography by Jonathan Jackson, [email protected]
Program design by Joanna McClean, [email protected]
Cover design by Katy Newton
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