17 journalists from 14 countries join us as Journalist Fellows in October 2022

Seventeen journalists from fourteen countries spanning four continents have joined the Reuters Institute to join our Journalist Fellowship Programme this term. The new cohort includes reporters, producers and broadcasters from a range of legacy and independent media outlets. All of them will take part in an engaging programme of activities to allow them to explore the challenges facing journalism right now.

Our new Journalist Fellows will also undertake an in-depth personal project relevant to their professional interests. Projects this term include the media's coverage of transgender and Roma communities, how to optimise science and climate journalism, grappling with disinformation in the Global South, and how journalism should approach questions around the metaverse, mental health and audience accessibility.

Mitali Mukherjee, Director of our Journalist Fellowship Programme, said: "We look forward to hosting our new cohort at the Institute. Our programme has been increasingly and purposefully diverse in nature. At a time where challenges for journalists in many parts of the world have intensified, there will be much to share amongst this community."

Read more about each of them below:

Brett Aresco 

Freelance journalist
USA
Sponsor: Columbia University

Brett recently graduated with honors from Columbia Journalism School, where he covered everything from the difficulty of securing polling places in New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic to Congress' 12-year battle to pass the Corporate Transparency Act. 

Project topic: The media's coverage of cryptocurrency

More on Brett's work:

• 'Undercapitalized and under siege: Harlem’s black restaurateurs fight to survive COVID-19', Columbia News Service
• Brett's Twitter account

Te Shima Brennen 

Documentary filmmaker
USA
Sponsor: Columbia University

Te Shima (they/them) is a documentary filmmaker and journalist in Brooklyn. They cover race, gender, and sexuality. As an emerging documentary filmmaker, they tell nuanced stories about BIPOC, queer and trans people as they navigate institutions not built to support them.

Project topic: Building trust with trans communities

More on TeShima's work:

• Te Shima's website
• Te Shima's Twitter account

Regine Cabato

Manila reporter, Washington Post
Philippines
Sponsor: Thomson Reuters Foundation

Regine reports about the Philippines for the Washington Post. She has sat in a troll farm, followed drug war killings and, most recently, covered the 2022 presidential election. Her commentary has been featured on BBC, CBS, and CNN among other channels.

Project topic: How Filipino journalists can cover and counter disinformation

More on Regine's work:

• 'How the Philippines’ brutal history is being whitewashed for voters', Washington Post
• 'In Philippines, a child alleges abuse by Catholic priest — and tests Vatican promise for global reckoning', Washington Post
• Regine's Twitter account

Johny Cassidy

Digital Special Projects Producer, BBC News
United Kingdom
Sponsor: BBC

Johny has been a BBC journalist for more than 14 years during which time he’s worked across most of the BBC's TV and radio news output. He recently moved into digital news where he is hoping his passion for digital accessibility and inclusion can add value to all our content. 

Project topic: Bridging the visual data journalism accessibility gap

More on Johny's work:

• 'Cost of living: How can I save money on my food shop?', BBC News
• 'How we pay the bills: Skipping meals and fewer car journeys', BBC News
• Johny's Twitter account

Ronson Chan

Multimedia Production Supervisor (Local News), Channel C HK
Hong Kong
Sponsor: Meta Journalism Project

Ronson is the head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association and former deputy editor of Stand News. He now works for Channel C. As a journalist for 18 years, he has worked as an investigative reporter, online news editor, and assignment editor in different media.

Project topic: The power of live streaming

Laida Kaoma Chongo

Freelance journalist
Zambia
Sponsor: Meta Journalism Project

Laida Kaoma Chongo is an independent journalist based in Zambia with a passion for issues around gender. She is a firm believer that well-informed writing can change Zambia’s journalism narrative for the better and that writing is a powerful tool for advocacy.

Project topic: Combatting "Blalizo" payments in Zambia

More on Laida's work:

• 'The need to act inclusion for persons with disabilities', Paradigm Initiative
• 'Cyber law in Zambia: Should it be repelled? Thoughts from a female human rights defender', GenderIT.org
• Laida's Twitter account

Zsófia Fülöp

Journalist, Magyar Narancs
Hungary
Sponsor: Thomson Reuters Foundation

Zsófia is a Hungarian journalist for the independent political-cultural weekly Magyar Narancs. She has mainly covered health care, social issues and has done a lot of reporting on underrepresented communities such as Roma, refugees or LGBTQ+ people. 

Project topic: How the media represents Roma people in Hungary

More on Zsófia's work:

• '"My roommate shook my shoulder at dawn and told me to wake up because the war had started"', Magyar Narancs
• Article on gay and transgender youth, Magyar Narancs
• Zsófia's Twitter account

Tanmoy Goswami

Founder and editor, Sanity
India
Sponsor: Botnar Fondation

Tanmoy is the founder and editor of Sanity, India's first independent, reader-funded mental health storytelling platform.

Project topic: Mental health storytelling in the Global South

More on Tanmoy's work:

• 'The life-saving case for cash transfers', Sanity
• 'Explained: Global mental health's catastrophic cash problem', Sanity
• Our interview with Tanmoy
• Tanmoy's Twitter account

Vanessa Gruber

TV journalist, Austrian Broadcasting Corporation
Austria
Sponsor: Austrian Press Agency

Vanessa works as a TV journalist at the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation in Vienna, with an emphasis on the economy and ecology. She grew up in Salzburg and studied Transcultural Communications, Digital Media and Journalism in Vienna and Madrid. 

Project topic: Climate change journalism

More on Vanessa's work:

• Vanessa's Twitter account

Manar Hafeth Ismail

Reporter, Radio Sawa
Jordan
Sponsor: Mona Megalli

Manar has been working in journalism for nearly a decade, contributing to several news websites and radio stations. She is an investigative journalist and is interested in human rights issues. 

Project topic: Coverage of transgender communities in Jordan

More on Manar's work:

• 'Compromised innocence', Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism
• Manar's Twitter account

Jussi Latvala

Producer, Yle
Finland
Sponsor: Helsingin Sanomat Foundation

Jussi is a Finnish journalist and producer working for the Finnish public broadcasting company, Yle. He is interested in how journalistic principles could be made more visible to our audiences. 

Project topic: Journalistic principles and how they could be communicated to audiences, especially online and on social media

More on Jussi's work:

• 'Star Wars: The return of good and evil' [in Finnish], Yle
• 'On the spectrum of humor' [in Finnish], Yle
• Jussi's Twitter account

Evie Liu

Reporter, Barron's
USA
Sponsor: Google News Initiative

Evie Liu is a reporter at New York-based financial magazine Barron's. As the green economy grows, she's interested in scrutinising companies' climate commitments, keeping tabs on potential greenwashing, and exploring better ways to tell a sustainability-related business story. 

Project topic: How journalists should scrutinise corporations' climate-related commitments

More on Evie's work:

• 'Why investors are toning down climate demands', Barron's
• '10 real estate companies that are both greener and more profitable', Barron's
• Evie's Twitter account

Soon Kiat Ng 

Associate digital content editor, Lianhe Zaobao, SPH Media
Singapore
Sponsor: SPH Media

Ng Soon Kiat is an associate digital content editor at Lianhe Zaobao. He helps to drive and oversee video content, multimedia features and data-driven stories at the Chinese-language title.

Project topic: Building trust as SPH Media transitions to a company limited by guarantee

More on Soon Kiat's work:

• Data visualisation article on Change.org, Zaobao
• Data analysis article on racism in Singapore, Zaobao
• Soon Kiat's Twitter account

Frida Sandgren 

News Editor, Dagens Nyheter
Sweden
Sponsor: Dagens Nyheter

Frida Sandgren is a Swedish journalist and news editor at the national daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter in Stockholm. In her current position on the national news desk, she covers different areas from gang violence and healthcare to education and immigration. 

Project topic: How and when science journalism becomes breaking news

More on Frida's work:

• Frida's Twitter account

Yuen-C Tham

Senior political correspondent, The Straits Times
Singapore
Sponsor: SPH Media

Yuen-C is a journalist with The Straits Times in Singapore, currently writing about local politics and working on multimedia content. She has also covered stories on a wide range of subjects from crime and court cases to technology and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Project topic: The opportunities and challenges of the metaverse for news organisations

More on Yuen-C's work:

• Articles in the Straits Times

Olga Tokariuk

Freelance journalist
Ukraine
Sponsor: Thomson Reuters Foundation

Olga Tokariuk is an independent journalist and non-resident fellow at CEPA (Center for European Policy Analysis). Olga has vast experience working with Ukrainian and international media. Her reports have been featured at TIME, The Washington Post, NPR (USA), Monocle (UK), and EFE (Spain). 

Project topic: Disinformation and the impact on democratic societies

More on Olga's work:

• 'Syrian Doctors Are Teaching Ukrainians How to Prepare for Chemical Attacks', TIME
• 'Reflections on Ukraine's independence'. Audio diary for BBC Sounds

Natalia Zhdanova

Multimedia journalist
Russia
Sponsor: Thomson Reuters Foundation

Natalia has been covering key socio-political events for top-tier independent media (across online, radio, podcasts and YouTube) for more than 10 years. In 2020, together with a well-known Novaya Gazeta investigative journalist Pavel Kanygin she founded and successfully developed a political YouTube show, 'To be continued'/'Продолжение следует'.

Project topic: The wartime model of Russian propaganda: myths, techniques and ways to escape

More on Natalia's work:

• 'Deadline' podcast episode on the new wave of Russian political journalism, Meduza.io
• 'To be continued', YouTube channel