US journalist Anne Godlasky, named Director of Reuters Institute’s Journalist Programmes

US journalist Anne Godlasky has been appointed as the new Director of Journalist Programmes of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. As part of her job, she will oversee our signature Journalist Fellowship Programme and other initiatives. Anne will report to Director Mitali Mukherjee and will be part of our senior management team. She’ll be taking up her post today. 

Working with our team, Anne will play a key role in pursuing our mission of exploring the future of journalism worldwide, connecting practice and research, and building and developing the Reuters Institute as a centre of excellence with a global reputation. She will represent the Institute at global forums and engage with the news industry worldwide.

Before joining the Institute, Anne Godlasky was president of the National Press Foundation (NPF), a nonprofit dedicated to promoting journalism excellence through training programs and awards. Under her leadership, the NPF instructed reporters in dozens of countries on topics including democracy and political coverage, the impact of AI on many sectors, international trade and a myriad of health issues ranging from rare diseases to vaccine coverage to caregiving.

Prior to joining the NPF in 2021, Anne worked for more than 16 years at USA Today, where she held leadership roles in digital news and social media as well as serving as a producer and editor on the national, health, investigative and Washington teams. 

In 2019-2020, Anne was a fellow of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, where she studied news avoidance, media innovation, organisational leadership, psychology and narrative nonfiction. She has loved this vocation since her first high school journalism class and has freelanced for The Prague Post, The York Dispatch in Pennsylvania, and The Current Newspapers at Washington, DC. 

Responding to the appointment, Anne said: “I am overjoyed and humbled to join the Reuters Institute, a beacon of journalism education throughout the world," Godlasky said. "I know first-hand the value of fellowship programmes in moving the craft of journalism forward to meet rapidly changing technological and audience demands. My goal is to help every journalist touched by the Reuters Institute to reach their full potential in ways sustainable for the field and their own well-being.” 

Mitali Mukherjee, Director of the Reuters Institute, said: “We are delighted to have Anne as our new Director of Journalist Programmes. Having worked across newsrooms and in institutions that support journalists, Anne brings decades of experience to this role and will work with our leadership team to help shape, define and accomplish the strategic goals of the Reuters Institute. In a time of rapid change for journalism, both in its practice and its dissemination, Anne will play an important role in leading our flagship fellowship programme, and other programmes to ensure we reach and help journalists from all parts of the world.”

Helen Boaden, Chair of the Institute’s Steering Committee, said: “This is a great appointment. Anne’s a seasoned journalist who will add new strength and depth to our vibrant senior management team. As importantly, our Journalist Fellows will benefit from her extensive experience in ambitious journalistic training and her calm, thoughtful manner when challenges arise.”