New ICFJ Knight Fellows to Work on Supporting Exiled Media, Exploring AI Solutions and Covering the Amazon

By: ICFJ |05/01/2024

The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) is thrilled to announce a new cohort of ICFJ Knight Fellows - Daniel Nardin, José Nieves, Luz Mely Reyes, Mattia Peretti, Nikita Roy and Sannuta Raghu.

While working from distinct regions on a variety of important issues in journalism, these fellows are connected by their aim of bringing together communities of journalists to share resources and best practices. Drawing inspiration from one of ICFJ's greatest strengths - its network - they will work together to further innovation and creativity, finding solutions to the challenges faced by the media industry today. ICFJ Knight Fellow Laura Zommer is continuing her fellowship, focusing on fighting false information in Spanish-speaking communities in the United States.

AI and Journalism

Nikita Roy and Mattia Peretti - who began their fellowships in January - have already begun to collaborate in their work on artificial intelligence in journalism, co-hosting a panel at the International Journalism Festival on what newsrooms are getting right and wrong about their integration of new technologies. Roy's focus is AI literacy; she teaches audiences the risks and rewards of using AI in journalism work. Peretti's fellowship centers around finding innovative solutions - sometimes based on AI tools - to help journalism organizations become more sustainable. New Fellow Sannuta Raghu, of India, will also work on AI. Raghu leads Scroll.in's AI projects for news and journalism. She will be using machine learning to understand which news formats are most appealing to different audiences, as well as developing a tool to improve the way young audiences can access high-quality journalism.

Exiled Media

Luz Mely Reyes and José J. Nieves will both be working to support media organizations in exile. Reyes, a Venezuelan journalist and co-founder of Efecto Cocuyo and Venezuela Migrante, will create communities and compile resources for exiled journalists in the Americas. Nieves, a Cuban journalist and co-founder of independent media outlet El Toque, will focus on ensuring long-term sustainability for media in exile by improving financial independence, resilience and audience reach. Reyes' and Nieves' work will complement the new Exiled Media Toolkit, released last month by ICFJ's International Journalists' Network (IJNet) in collaboration with the Network for Exiled Media Outlets (NEMO).

Voices from the Amazon

Daniel Nardin is a journalist from the Amazon region of Brazil, where he founded the organization Amazônia Vox, which provides free training for local journalists, including indigenous reporters, to produce "solutions journalism" from the region. During this fellowship, Nardin will work on the platform connecting Amazonian journalists and photographers with international news outlets to provide stories and images about the Amazon from the people who live within it.

The ICFJ Knight Fellowships are designed to instill a culture of news innovation and experimentation worldwide. Fellows primarily work with newsrooms to seed new ideas and services that deepen coverage, expand news delivery and engage citizens, with the ultimate goal of improving people's lives. They work in countries where there is a good opportunity to create the news media of the future. With support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, fellows lead projects worldwide.