IRP Blog
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- May 02, 2012
- IRP
- by IRP Staff
Yoruba Richen Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship
, a documentary filmmaker and an IRP Fellow to South Africa in fall of 2004, has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
As an IRP Fellow in fall 2004, Richen directed the documentary “Promised Land,” an exploration of race and land in post-apartheid South Africa. The film, which aired on PBS in 2010, follows two black communities in South Africa trying to recover ancestral lands lost during apartheid.
Richen’s current film, “The New Black,” uncovers the complicated and often combative histories of the African-American and LGBT civil-rights movements. It will be broadcast on PBS in 2013.
Since 1925, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has offered fellowships to artists, scientists and scholars in all fields, based on impressive past achievements and promise for future -
- April 03, 2012
- IRP
- by IRP Staff
Peter Canellos Wins American Society of News Editors’ Award
Peter Canellos, the editorial page editor for the Boston Globe and an IRP Gatekeeper Editor to Rwanda in November 2011, has won the American Society of News Editors’ 2011 distinguished writing award.
Canellos’ award-winning columns included his work as a Gatekeeper. Relying upon insights gleaned from the trip, Canellos addressed Boston's role in sending health care professionals to developing countries such as Rwanda. "Boston hospitals," he wrote, "are part of the undertold story of how America is regaining prestige through the skills and humanity of its medical professionals." He also commented on Rwanda's quick growth and international "success story" status after the genocide, but cautioned, "Just don’t mention ethnic groups or criticize the government."
More from the announcement:
“The American Society of News Editors is pleased to honor a wide range of extraordinary work and substance,” Ken Paulson, president of ASNE, said in a statement announcing its -
- March 27, 2012
- IRP
- by IRP Staff
Meet the Spring Fellows: Juhie Bhatia
Juhie Bhatia is passionate about her work, whether she’s discussing her role as managing editor of the online magazine Women’s eNews or her current trip to Morocco. Bhatia left for a five-week IRP reporting trip at the beginning of the month.
She’s already reported on one sixteen-year-old victim of rape who, when forced to marry her rapist, took her own life. Though Morocco has made great improvements in the realm of women’s rights, it still has a long way to go, but Bhatia also reports that Moroccan women seem up to the challenge of reforming their country’s laws.
Bhatia chose Morocco, which has maintained a relatively low profile even in light of the waves of protests sweeping the region, because the country has undergone significant changes in maternal health. Stopping first in Rabat and then the port city of Casablanca, Bhatia is meeting with several NGOs involved in maternal health and its confluence with current legislation. She is also interviewing -
- March 21, 2012
- IRP
- by Melody Wilson
Nieman Reports Highlights IRP’s Global Health Coverage
“In global health,” Stefanie Friedhoff writes for Nieman Reports, “the stories that matter are rarely news; the resources and commitment it takes to investigate programs and major players are rarely available; and the truth about how hard it can be to help people in need can indeed be numbing.”
But Friedhoff also points to independent journalism programs like the International Reporting Project that are filling the gaps in global health coverage. For years, IRP has supported journalists and editors that turn the spotlight toward global health. In spring 2011 and 2012, IRP hosted a total of ten journalists focusing exclusively on maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria, water-borne illnesses, and new scientific and medical research.
The Nieman Foundation cited efforts like these as crucial to bridging the gaps in coverage of this field. By providing support, space and training for reporters covering various topics, including global health, IRP renews its commitment to -
- March 09, 2012
- IRP
- by IRP Staff
Meet the Spring Fellows: Christopher Werth
Last Saturday, Christopher Werth left for India on a global health reporting fellowship from IRP. He will explore the rise of chronic diseases, like heart ailments, in developing countries. India is particularly interesting in that regard because it is clearly a developing economy in transition, yet chronic diseases have already reached levels typical of far wealthier nations. The health system then faces daunting challenges in using limited resources to tackle large problems.
Werth’s goal is to produce good reporting out of India that illustrates the issue and goes beyond merely explaining it. India’s influence in global economics and politics is growing rapidly, and it there is a lot going on in such a large country. Werth also feels a personal connection to chronic health issues, since his father passed away from heart disease. As a radio reporter who frequently contributes to “marketplace” radio, Werth will take listeners in to Indian homes and hospitals.
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- February 28, 2012
- IRP
- by IRP Staff
Sarah Colt Produces PBS Film “The Amish”
Sarah Colt, a spring 2004 IRP Fellow, is a senior producer of "The Amish," which airs tonight at 8 p.m. on PBS.
More from the PBS website:
"An intimate portrait of contemporary Amish faith and life, this film examines how such a closed and communal culture has thrived within one of the most open, individualistic societies on earth. What does the future hold for a community whose existence is so rooted in the past? And what does our fascination with the Amish say about deep American values?"
As an IRP Fellow, Colt profiled efforts by Namibia's leaders to redistribute land in a country where there is still a vast disparity in land -
- February 07, 2012
- IRP
- by IRP Staff
Kathryn Schulz Named Book Critic at New York Magazine
Kathryn Schulz has been named book critic at New York magazine, the New York Observer announced today. Schulz was an IRP Fellow in the spring of 2004, traveling to Japan to report on antidepressants. Schulz is also author of the nonfiction book Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error.
More from editor-in-chief Adam Moss, as quoted by the Observer:
“Kathryn has a wide-ranging intellect and a vivid voice, and I’m thrilled that she’s bringing her formidable talents to New York,” Mr. Moss wrote in the announcement. “Our readers, who had a taste of Kathryn’s work last year, can look forward to thoughtful works beyond the traditional book review, on literary subjects and big ideas that books put in motion. She’s the kind of writer you want to read on anything, because her mind is so -
- January 03, 2012
- IRP
- by IRP Staff
David Francis Quoted on Bombing in Nigeria
After a bomb was detonated on Christmas Day in Nigeria, killing at least 35 people, 2011 IRP Fellow David Francis weighed in on religious violence in Nigeria, a topic he covered thoroughly when he visited the country last fall.
Francis was also quoted by reporters covering the attack in two publications.
Molly Born, in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article "Nigerians Here Fret Homeland's Violence," relied on Francis's expertise in the wake of the bombing. "They warned they were going to do this," David told her, remarking in particular that Sunday was "the perfect storm of international news coverage." Born continued, "Mr. Francis said disaffected youth compose the group, which formed in 2002 and is likely receiving some direction from an enemy outside the country."
Scott Baldauf, of The Christian Science Monitor, also highlighted Francis's work in "Nigeria Dispatches Troops to North to Stop Boko Haram Attacks." Baldauf wrote, "David Francis, who reported for the Monitor -
- December 21, 2011
- IRP
- by IRP Staff
IRP’s Interview With Indonesian President Named Notable Foreign Policy Insight
Jayshree Bajoria, a senior staff writer and editor at the Council on Foreign Relations, wrote about meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as an IRP Gatekeeper Editor to Indonesia in May 2011. Bajoria focused on the country's emerging profile as the 2011 chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and member of the G20. Bajoria's interview with Indonesia's leader has been selected as one of CFR.org's eleven notable foreign policy insights for 2011.
Yudhoyono assured Gatekeepers that Indonesia is serious in conducting reforms in infrastructure, the legal system, and the government, but that it will be a long and "painful" process. "The president also expressed concern about growing radicalization in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country," Bajoria notes, and "on lessons that Indonesia could offer Egypt and other countries in the Middle East seeking democracy, Yudhoyono says the militaries in the countries must reform first."
CFR.org highlighted -
- December 19, 2011
- IRP
- by Melody Wilson
Reflections on Kim Jong-il
The death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il is sweeping headlines today. Will this mark a turning point for the heavily oppressed country, or will North Koreans see more of the same with his son and successor, Kim Jong-un?
IRP Gatekeepers traveled to North and South Korea in 2007, and many of them observed that North Korea seemed on the edge of change. Though Kim Jong-il's policies remained brutally strict, he had begun to soften in his stance toward accepting foreign aid and dismantling his nuclear program.
Crossing the Border into North Korea
Michael Mosettig explored the tenuous demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas and “separates the universes of a war long forgotten by most Americans and a peace tantalizingly close for nearly all Koreans.” Randall Smith also took up the topic of the DMZ by noting the disparity in numbers on each side. “At the moment, there are 50 U.S. soldiers in the DMZ and 700 from South Korea,” he wrote. “By contrast,