If you don’t know the name Luther Keith, you should.

Keith was the first Black sportswriter at a Detroit daily newspaper.

He was the first Black statehouse reporter in Michigan. In 1982, he became the first Black assigning editor. And 10 years later, he was appointed assistant managing editor, making him the first Black masthead-level editor in the paper’s history.

All of those firsts took place during his 33 years at The Detroit News.

The native son of Detroit died peacefully in his sleep on March 5. He was 74.

The trailblazing journalist loved to tell stories of everyday people, and in doing so, he strived to ensure that the city and residents of his beloved Detroit were portrayed accurately and fairly, and placed on the front page. For Keith, diversity inside and outside the newsroom was paramount.

Midway through a successful reporting career, Keith stepped away from the newsroom for a few years to become the founding director of the Journalism Institute for Minorities (JIM), an academic scholarship program at Wayne State University that serves as a pipeline to diversify media organizations. More than 300 students have graduated from what is now known as the Journalism Institute for Media Diversity. It turns 40 this year.

Keith took every opportunity he could to recruit diverse journalists, such as JIM graduate Mekeisha Madden Toby.

“It was an interview and a conversation and a chance that led to my first newspaper internship,” she said, “and that internship, at The Detroit News, opened too many professional and personal doors to count.”

After a negative portrayal of the city aired on ABC’s “Primetime Live” in the early ’90s, Keith was inspired to create a tabloid publication called On Detroit. The weekly section in The Detroit News showcased the residents, neighborhoods, schools, churches and businesses often overlooked by large media outlets.

On Detroit was the prototype for what is known today as community-centered engagement journalism.

Detroit Free Press columnist Darren Nichols got his start as a reporter covering the education beat for On Detroit.

“There literally isn’t a day I don’t use a lesson from Luther Keith,” Nichols said. “He taught me to eliminate the words ‘I think’ in my copy. Luther would say, ‘We know he thinks it because he said it.’ It’s not only a lesson I use, I teach it to young reporters that I mentor. Luther was full of all of these small things that would make you a better reporter.

“With On Detroit, our goal was to get good enough stories that would (run on) 1A,” Nichols said.

Luther Keith changed the trajectory of my career. I was set on becoming one of the top female design editors in the country. However, Keith saw me in a role I had dreamed of but thought was unattainable: He appointed me editor of On Detroit, a role that provided valuable experience in editing and management while leading a team of five. The lessons I learned from him allowed me many years later to follow in his footsteps as assistant managing editor at The Detroit News.

Most importantly, Keith and his family became my family.

“Luther was the soul of The Detroit News when he worked here. He loved The News, but loved Detroit more, so he left to start an organization serving the city’s neighborhoods,” said Detroit News editorial page editor Nolan Finley in a story published on March 6. “He had a personality that drew people to him. If I had to describe him in one word, it would be joyous. He radiated a love for life, no matter what he was doing.”

Keith was a mentor to many, including retired photo editor Charlotte Massey.

“When I arrived at The Detroit News in 1998, he took me under his wing and put me up for Push the Edges, a community/journalism fellowship with Wayne State University, the Poynter Institute, and the Ford Foundation,” Massey said. “It was an amazing introduction to the city and some of its most interesting citizens.”

A multiple award-winner over the years, Keith was the youngest inductee in the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in 1995.

Upon retirement in 2005, Keith was eager to do more for the city of Detroit. Ever the visionary, he created ARISE Detroit!, a nonprofit dedicated to equipping residents with the tools to tackle societal issues affecting their neighborhoods. Since its inception, the organization has sponsored “Neighborhoods Day,” an annual event the first Saturday in August for children, teens and adults to participate in service projects across the city.

Maynard alum Walter Middlebrook, a former assistant managing editor at The Detroit News, said Keith’s commitment to young people will be long remembered through his service as a trustee for the Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation, which awards approximately 40 scholarships annually to graduating Michigan high school seniors.

Keith was part of the team at The Detroit News that created the foundation. The board voted to name a scholarship in his memory.

“(Luther) was considered the soul of the board and always jumped at the opportunity to help pick the awardees,” said Middlebrook, a member of the foundation board.

When Keith wasn’t serving the city of Detroit by day, his alter ego, “Badman,” was entertaining blues fans at night. The self-taught guitarist/singer/songwriter and his band performed regularly at clubs across the city. They even performed on Memphis’s famed Beale Street and at international blues festivals.

Winner of the Detroit Music Awards’ Outstanding Blues Songwriter, Keith released five albums over the past 26 years. One of his songs, “Cooking in the Kitchen,” was the jingle for the restaurant Captain D’s advertising campaign.

Keith was a dedicated member of Detroit NABJ and a former first vice president. President Vincent McCraw described him as the chapter’s North Star, known for his wisdom and humor, often showcased during celebrity roasts. He lent a hand whenever he could, always willing to support the chapter and its members.

“Luther’s unassuming warmth and genuineness was his calling card,” McCraw said. “For 16 years he never hesitated to perform at our Show the Love benefit to raise funds to support Metro Detroit journalists facing financial hardships. For decades, he made a difference in the lives of many of our members.”

Keith is survived by his wife of 36 years, Jacqueline Hall Keith; daughter, Erin Yvonne Hall Keith; loving siblings and extended family members; a grateful community; and countless journalists, who, like me, entered the Detroit market through doors he opened for us to walk through.

Detroit journalists stand tall on Luther Keith’s shoulders and are committed to honoring his legacy because a person’s spirit lives on as long as they are remembered. We will ensure his name endures for generations to come.

Felecia D. Henderson is Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Maynard Institute.

Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education Secures Historic Grants to Advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging in Journalism

We’re thrilled to share some exciting news about the Maynard Institute. Two transformative grants will significantly bolster our mission to foster Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) in journalism. The Ford Foundation has awarded us a $400,000 grant for general support between 2025 and 2026, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has committed an unprecedented $2.5 million over four years—the largest grant in our history.

These generous contributions, totaling $2.9 million, couldn’t come at a more critical time. As DEIB initiatives face increasing challenges nationwide, this funding empowers us to expand our signature Fault Lines® training methodology, create new programming, and deepen our commitment to building organizational cultures that truly reflect the diversity of our communities.

“Ford and Knight have been some of our longest-standing funding partners,” said Martin G. Reynolds, Maynard Institute co-executive director overseeing fundraising and external affairs. “A few years ago, at the height of the racial awakening and pandemic, supporting this work was a priority. Today, we are facing an entirely different climate, making these grants all the more important, impactful, and meaningful. These funds will super-charge our efforts to build journalistic institutions of belonging and help us hire our first-ever development director, as well as other support staff.”

“As an organization dedicated to pushing for accurate and fair representation, we don’t get to step back when attacks happen, or decide it’s a good time to do the work of belonging because the moment lends itself to an opportunity,” Reynolds added.

“This is who we are. This is the work we do, and these grants will help us and the people we seek to serve, immensely. We are deeply appreciative of Ford and Knight foundations for their continued support.”

Building on a Legacy of Support

The Ford Foundation’s $400,000 award follows its pivotal five-year BUILD grant, which supported our general operations, enhanced skill-building for our leadership team, strengthened strategic planning, and funded a website redesign that will launch later this year. This ongoing partnership shows Ford’s steadfast belief in ensuring we have the infrastructure and resources needed to sustain and grow our impact.

Building upon Knight Foundation’s 2019 investment of $1.2 million, which established the Equity and Inclusion Transformation Program and supported our work to infuse Fault Lines® into the Table Stakes initiative, the Maynard Institute will expand its focus to journalism infrastructure organizations. While the previous project paired DEIB training specialists directly with GBH News in Boston and the Cedar Rapids Gazette in Iowa, this new effort will elevate the cultural capacity and organizational cultures of the entities tasked with supporting news publishers.

“The Maynard Institute is igniting a wave of new programming, building on the transformative power of the Maynard 200 Fellowship. It is an experience many alumni describe as career and life-changing, as it has propelled their professional growth and leadership voice,” Odette Alcazaren-Keeley said. Alcazaren-Keeley directed the Maynard 200 program and will direct two new programs: Maynard Communities of Practice and Maynard Regional Training.

“The support from the Ford and Knight foundations will supercharge these two initiatives, helping us deliver even greater impact for frontline editors and managers, executive leaders, storytellers, media entrepreneurs, and others of all backgrounds, especially those who have been historically underrepresented,” Alcazaren-Keeley explained.

“These programs will provide specialized instruction, peer dialogues, collaborative solutions-based endeavors, dedicated coaching, and a resilient community of support.

Our new programs will benefit all institute alumni and the next generation of media professionals across America, whose work is reshaping the face of the journalism industry,” Alcazaren-Keeley added.

This work is essential, as these organizations, which create products and services for an increasingly diverse media ecosystem, must be mindful of blind spots and biases when engaging with news publishers. Additionally, it will benefit these infrastructure organizations to foster hospitable environments where people of diverse backgrounds can thrive and innovate.

Over the grant period, the Institute will conduct three year-long initiatives for journalism infrastructure organizations, which will be chosen over the coming months.

Additional Grant-Supported Efforts

This new funding will also support efforts to:

• Train 50 journalists and media leaders annually.
• Launch a “communities of practice” initiative for Maynard alumni, fostering sustained engagement and professional growth.
• Bring on new team members to enhance program evaluation, development, and program-delivery capabilities to ensure our long-term impact.

Rooted in Founders’ Vision

All of this work is grounded in the vision of our co-founder, Robert C. Maynard, who fought to ensure diverse voices were integrated into journalism. In his 1972 essay, Perspective: A Black Journalist Looks at White Newsrooms, Maynard wrote, “The picture of America as seen through the lens of the mass media is badly distorted.” He believed that bringing minorities into the management structure of media organizations was critical to providing a fuller and more accurate view of society. “When a singular or narrow perspective dominates the news landscape, no American has full access to truth, even if their perspective is represented,” Maynard wrote. “It is this, I think, that hinders the fulfillment of democracy.”

A Commitment to Truth and Democracy

Since our founding, the Maynard Institute has stood firm in our mission to advance equity in journalism, developing programs that meet the moment and have trained generations of reporters, editors, news leaders and media entrepreneurs. These historic investments will allow us to expand our reach and deepen our impact, aligning with the belief that a diverse media landscape is essential to a thriving democracy.

We’re deeply grateful to the Ford Foundation and Knight Foundation for their unwavering support of our mission. Together, we’re building a future where every voice is heard, every story matters, and every newsroom belongs to everyone.

In light of recent proposed legislation and executive orders that affect nonprofit organizations, DEI, and press freedom, the Maynard Institute sat down with several Maynard alumni and faculty members to discuss the values that keep them grounded in journalism and in DEI.

They agreed that amid growing political and legislative threats to journalism, DEI, and nonprofit organizations, core values—community, diversity, and press freedom—remain essential. Despite shifting policies, they emphasized that journalism’s mission endures: serving the public with integrity and holding power to account.

Ernesto Aguilar is the Executive Director of Radio Programming and Content DEI Initiatives with Bay Area PBS affiliate KQED. He also runs the Substack newsletter OIGO, about Latino/a, Latine, Latinx content, audiences and engagement in public media.

A Maynard 200 alum, Aguilar recently became Maynard Institute faculty, teaching on the intersections between AI and DEI in journalism.

Remaining grounded and values-oriented, he said, will allow journalists to center community and chase solutions, rather than running from fear.

“I think the big hurdle is…grounding those who are in the journalism space around what our core values are,” Aguilar said. “People asked me how it felt after the election, and I said my values don’t change from administrations or policies or what happens in the news cycle on a day-to-day basis.”

Dickson Louie is a consultant and case writer as well as institute faculty, Treasurer and member of the Maynard Institute Board of Directors since 2015.

He’s recently finished working on a case study with the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium, established by the state of New Jersey in 2018 to address news deserts and the growing crisis in local news.

“New Jersey is the first state to use state-appropriated funds to address the local news crisis and the rise of news deserts and misinformation by supporting news startups, early-state, and more established products/outlets that seek to rebuild the community information network and grow the local news ecosystem,” the case study’s executive summary explains.

Itself a 501c3 nonprofit organization, the consortium builds on the American public media model to “reimagine how public funding can be used to address the growing problem of news deserts, misinformation” and seeks to support and foster informed communities.

Colloquially known as the “Nonprofit Killer Bill,” House Resolution 9495 would give unilateral discretion to the Executive Branch to designate nonprofit organizations as supporters of terrorism without any appeal process or adjudication.

“Under the leadership of an unscrupulous authoritarian, it is not hard to imagine how an administration could use the powers in this bill to hinder or dismantle organizations that its leaders do not like,” Rep.Don Beyer (D-VA) said during debate on the House floor Nov. 21.

By shifting their focus from creating a profitable product to providing a sustainable service, newsrooms are staying open and connected to audiences, according to the 2024 State of Local News Report through Northwestern University’s Medill School of journalism.

“Of the startups included in the 2024 State of Local News Project, 53% are nonprofits. Among just the digital startups, that number rises to 60%,” the report stated.

“I think the nonprofit model is the way to go,” Dickson Louie said in an interview with the Maynard Institute, “because basically, you get that multiple revenue support, from donations, from grants.”

Among the key takeaways from Louie’s work on the case study with the NJCIC: encourage entrepreneurship, promote civic engagement, empower underserved communities, and re-invest in local communities.

“Aside from promoting civic engagement, grant money reinvested in community journalism addresses a public service,” the case study concluded. “It helps local news organizations to re-engage in their traditional roles as an economic driver in their local communities. They hire local people, tell local stories, encourage local business, and act as a resource when the community experiences a natural disaster such as a hurricane or fire.”

As more and more newsrooms shift to a nonprofit model, the threat of having their 501c3 status revoked in the midst of allegations of materially aiding terrorism, without evidence or judicial due process, presents a threat not only to the livelihoods of the journalists they employ, but to the communities they inform.

Senate Bill 4516, the Dismantle DEI Act, may now be redundant legislation after a day-one Trump executive order called for immediately dismantling DEI offices in departments operated by the federal government. The bill, put forward by then-senator and now Vice President JD Vance, would not only dismantle DEI offices in the federal government, it would prohibit DEI practices.

“I think they’re ignoring the fact that having a diverse population in the U.S. is a mega trend that will continue to not be reversed,” Louie said.

The effects of DEI backlash are already evident throughout nonprofit organizations that receive government grants, as well as institutions of higher education.

Louie believes the math will bear out that diversity, beyond considerations of equity, is profitable. Diversity, especially as a practice and not merely a demographic calculation, is a strength.

“Embracing diversity is just good for business,” Louie said.

It’s also good for national security.

Jaisal Noor is a Maynard 200 alumni, Democracy Cohort Manager at Solutions Journalism Network, and reporter for Baltimore Beat. He also worked with Montclair State University’s Center for Collaborative Journalism on Democracy Day 2024, a national pro-democracy reporting collaboration coinciding with International Democracy Day.

In an interview with the Maynard Institute, Noor referenced a Dec. 2024 court decision upholding racial considerations in admission to the U.S. Naval Academy in which Senior District Judge Richard D. Bennett upheld Supreme Court exemptions from the historic SCOTUS ruling which struck down Affirmative Action in civilian colleges and universities, but not military higher education.

“For decades, our Nation’s military leaders have determined that a diverse officer corps is vital to mission success and national security,” Bennett stated in his 179-page opinion.

“If that makes sense for the military, I think it makes sense for our society more broadly. Journalism should more broadly reflect the society we live in,” Noor said. “And we know historically Black and brown communities have been systematically excluded from these kinds of opportunities.”

Beyond reflecting reality in a demographic sense, Aguilar said journalism and newsrooms must create a sense of community, of shared interest.

“DEI really is work in which we embrace the differences among our workforce and as journalists about our communities and the walks of life who join us along these paths within our communities, and that’s why I think it’s so important,” Aguilar said.

He also connected DEI and community investment to one of the most graphic depictions of police brutality and one of the most galvanizing instances of citizen journalism on American soil.

Darnella Frazier, then 18, was recognized with a Pulitzer Prize in Special Citations and Awards in 2021 for recording George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Aguilar recalled the recorded murder of George Floyd “one of the starkest reminders of the power of citizen journalism.”

HB 4250, the “Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act” or the “PRESS Act,” was introduced in Congress by Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and despite bipartisan support, has stalled in Congress.

The bill would broadly define a journalist protected under the law to include citizen and independent journalists, ensuring digital protection by requiring federal entities to subpoena service providers before being provided with information from a journalist’s phone or computer, including their personal devices and accounts.

After the murder of George Floyd, seen through Darnella Frazier’s camera phone, Aguilar said there was more interest in DEI programming and understanding diversity.

“George Floyd was killed, and then there was a lot of interest from broadcasters about how we represent voices within our communities,” he said. “In that moment was this opportunity for the public to understand that we as individual citizens and individual residents have agency to help represent what’s happening in our communities.”

While Aguilar is using his free OIGO newsletter to connect people to information on Latinx audience engagement and sees centering citizen journalism as a 21st century challenge to innovating newsrooms, Jaisal Noor said he understands fear of suppression of citizen journalism that documents abuses and holds power to account.

“I think it’s pretty reasonable for the media to be expecting a crackdown from the incoming Trump administration. I think there are legitimate concerns there,” Noor said. “We’re seeing a lot of repression of dissenting voices in the U.S.”

To understand suppression of journalism, Noor said journalists must understand their history. He referenced the FBI’s CounterIntelligence Program (COINTELPRO), the anti-communist Red Scare, and the labeling of Black press and Labor press initiatives as terrorist insurgents by the Wilson administration during WWI.

According to Noor, the solution to suppression of critical journalism is a pro-democracy approach, building trust with audiences and positioning journalism as a public service integral to community.

“What the media needs to be doing, regardless of who’s in office, is building those connections and building trust,” Noor said.

Journalists from diverse backgrounds are not just covering the community, they are the community. This relationship between journalists covering their own neighborhoods, cultures, or particular areas of sensitivity builds trust with audiences and communities based not only on perceptions of shared interests, but shared risks.

Growing up a member of the Sikh community post 9/11 during a time when Sikh men were often victims of hate crimes and discrimination, Noor said he saw journalism as a mission to humanize those who had been dehumanized in dominant media narratives.

“The media has a choice, whether to humanize or dehumanize ‘the other,’” Noor said. “That’s basically why I became a journalist, because I saw that my community, and people that look like me, were being excluded.”

Aguilar wants journalists and news leaders to “remind people about the value of having all these perspectives in our organizations, to help make what we do stronger.”

Louie believes the backlash against DEI will fade as it is realized across industries that diversity is a reality that is here to stay.

“Don’t worry about what people are saying about DEI,” Louie said. “Or, as Dan Rather would say: ‘don’t let the bastards scare you.’”

About the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education

Since 1977, the Maynard Institute has fought to push back against the systemic lack of diversity in the news industry through training, collaborations and convenings. The Institute promotes diversity and antiracism in the news media through improved coverage, hiring and business practices. We are creating better representation in U.S. newsrooms through our programs , which gives media professionals of color and those of diverse backgrounds the tools to become skilled storytellers, empowered executives and inspired entrepreneurs.

Maynard Family Update: Momo Chang joins Civil Eats

The Maynard Institute congratulates Momo Chang on her new role as Senior Editor at Civil Eats, a news source for critical thought about the American food system. Chang joined the Maynard Institute to manage the Oakland Voices alumni program in November 2019, a few months before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. She quickly adapted to the Oakland Voices alumni program to meet the moment. Chang launched virtual events and led a wave of alumni reporting on the pandemic and other community stories.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Momo at the Oakland Tribune and Oakland Voices. She is a wonderful person, journalist and editor. She is thoughtful, insightful and has always had the capacity to connect with different kinds of folks, a skill that made her a perfect fit to engage Voices alumni,” Martin G. Reynolds, Co-Director of the Maynard Institute, said of Momo Chang.

“Under her direction, we significantly increased the stories coming from Oakland Voices alumni, created new learning opportunities for them, and also benefited from Momo’s connections to the wider journalism community through annual meet-ups she would help coordinate. She also began to widen her work with the Maynard Institute around events and thought leadership before this new opportunity emerged. I am sad to see her go but happy for Civil Eats, and will do my best to find a way to bring her back into the Maynard family fold.”

Looking back at nearly five years with Oakland Voices

“It’s been my honor and privilege to work with so many community journalists from all backgrounds, who each brought their own unique perspectives and experiences,” Chang said.

“We had no idea what the times ahead would look like,” she said in a written statement to the Maynard Institute. “Together, and mostly virtually for the first year, we gathered to talk about Oakland, the pandemic, and to share stories and story ideas.”

Even through the logistical difficulties presented to all journalists by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chang helped steer the Oakland Voices newsroom towards impactful choices and stories that both reflected and informed the community and its unique struggles and community heroes.

As co-director of Oakland Voices, Chang’s dedication to Oakland and its people was evident in her fidelity to the stories of the ever-changing city. In addition to contributing articles, she also devoted time to the Oakland Voices alumni and their growth as journalists and storytellers.

Meaningful stories and mentorship

“Oakland Voices is a small but mighty community journalism program that’s made waves in the local community. This is in large part due to the journalism academy members and our alumni group of correspondents who continue to harness the power of telling stories that reflect the diversity of the Oakland community. We covered school closures, health equity issues, our winning basketball teams, the teachers and firefighters of Oakland, arts and culture, and so much more,” Chang wrote.

Though her time with the Maynard Institute has come to an end, Chang’s mentorship of the Oakland Voices alumni leaves a lasting mark on the small-scale, hyper-local outlet, and though her journalism journey is far from over, her influence on Oakland community journalists will forever be part of her legacy.

“I’m especially proud of Oakland Voices’ alumni network of dozens of community journalists, who’ve contributed stories and their voices to the Oakland Voices site,” she continued. “Our alumni have also published their works in outlets such as the The Oaklandside, Guardian US, NOSH, SF Chronicle, and many others. I know that the journalism academy and our alumni will continue to use their voices to tell meaningful stories about Oakland.”

“I wore many hats over the past few years, including editing stories, collaborating with partners like Oaklandside, putting on events… How lucky I am to have worked with some wonderful people, to help tell stories of a town that is near and dear to my heart. Oakland has its challenges, but one thing I know is that the people are what makes its heart beat.”

Maynard Family for Life

“I want to thank Maynard co-executive directors Martin Reynolds and Evelyn Hsu, and Oakland Voices co-director Rasheed Shabazz — and all of the staff members and our board members, who I’ve learned so much from. Working alongside everyone the past few years has been a joy, and these are experiences I’ll carry with me through the rest of my career,” Chang said.

Rasheed Shabazz co-led Oakland Voices with Chang, and worked closely with her in mentoring and devloping the Oakland Voices Community Correspondents.

“Momo was already an accomplished reporter when she came to Oakland Voices. It was amazing to work with her as she deepened her skills as an editor, facilitator, social media maven, and mentor,” Shabazz said. “My predecessor Brenda Payton invited her to speak to the 2016 class. I invited her in 2019. I look forward to the 2025 class learning from her.”

Left to right: Momo Chang, Marabet Morales Sikahall, Brandy Collins at an Oakland Voices session. Photo credit: Rasheed Shabazz.

Maynard 200 Fellow Class of 2023

When the Maynard 200 Fellowship expanded to include a curriculum track designed for frontline editors and managers, Chang joined the thriving professional network of over 200 fellows.

“It was always a great joy to collaborate with Momo, and it is fitting that one of her last projects was a reporting piece that leveraged the expertise of Oakland Voices and Maynard 200 journalists,” said Maynard 200 Director Odette Alcazaren-Keeley.

I am thankful to have had the opportunity to connect her editorial leadership with one of her fellow M200 alums, Mason Bryan of Prison Journalism Project. This piece is but one example of various impactful coverage she has expertly guided, empowering diverse journalists to tell more authentic stories. It’s a testament to the totality of who she is — a news leader, empathetic colleague and an inspiring friend.”

Left to right: Odette Alcazaren-Keeley, Martin G. Reynolds, Evelyn Hsu and Momo Chang during the 2023 Maynard 200 Fellowship at TCU’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication. Photo credit: Jaida Joiner.

Contributions to Professional Community Building

Chang also helped organize and execute Maynard Institute events such as our recent data training for journalists on heat-related incidences of gun violence, featuring her Maynard 200 Fellow alum Helina Selemon and Maynard 200 Faculty Aaron Glantz, “Data for Journalists Covering Climate Change and Gun Violence.” Chang also wrote a recap of the resources from this training.

The Oaklandside invited Chang to participate in a sold-out panel discussion on Bay Area Journalism as part of their Culture Makers lecture series in 2023. Later that year, she teamed up with co-host Pendarvis Harshaw to organize a recurring networking meetup for Bay Area journalists.

Left to right: Martin G. Reynolds, Odette Alcazaren-Keeley, Phil Yu, blogger of Angry Asian Man and co-author of RISE, Momo Chang, Jeff Chang, creater of They Call Us Bruce podcast and co-author of RISE, and Evelyn Hsu at the Maynard Family AAJA Happy Hour. Photo credit: Michelle Felix.

When professional associations were returning to in-person conferences in 2022, Chang helped coordinate and co-host the Maynard Institute’s outdoor happy hour reunion at the Asian American Journalists Association convention in Los Angeles. She was instrumental in recruiting guest speaker authors of the book Rise: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now. Chang also contributed to a conference panel session on freelancing.

About Civil Eats and the intersectionality of food stories

As a longtime journalist, editor, and organizer, Chang served nearly five years as co-director of Oakland Voices. We agree the new role at Civil Eats is a great fit considering Chang’s experience as a culturally sensitive food writer.

Founded in 2009, Civil Eats is an online outlet delving into stories about sustainable agriculture and encouraging critical conversations on the American food system in an effort to “build economically and socially just communities.”

Like Momo Chang, Civil Eats “doesn’t shy away from pursuing difficult or complicated stories.” Both solutions-oriented, centering human wellbeing and community, and focused on the overlooked layers of context and detail missing from many other publications, Chang and Civil Eats are a great fit for one another.

Civil Eats recently took to X, formerly Twitter, to announce Momo’s new role, saying “We are very excited to announce that veteran journalist Momo Chang will be joining the Civil Eats team as our senior editor!”

“I’m delighted that I’m now a part of Civil Eats as their senior editor, to work with this award-winning team of journalists, and to tell stories about our food systems, farmers and farming, fishing, and national and local policies on food that affect all of us,” Chang said.

“I look forward to helping build on the canon of work that Civil Eats has been publishing for the past 15 years,” she responded to Civil Eats on Twitter.

We look forward to watching Momo continue her journalism journey growing and shaping the incredible work of Civil Eats. She will always remain part of the extended #MaynardFamily.

Maynard Institute fellows, faculty and alums continue to create change in journalism and in their communities, breaking into new roles and winning awards for their consistently humanizing, community-oriented, and groundbreaking journalism across myriad beats and investigative paths. Join us in celebrating their accomplishments and contributions to the field of journalism.

Awards and Fellowships

Maynard 200 alum and CEO of the Institute for Nonprofit News Karen Rundlet was named one of The NonProfit Times’ Power and Influence Top 50.

Block Club Reporter and Maynard 200 alum Rachel Hinton was honored with a DePaul Distinguished Alumna Award.

Joshua Barajas, 2024 Maynard 200 Fellow, and the PBS NewsHour team received the 2024 Newsletter Journalism Award from the National Press Club for their newsletter “Here’s the Deal.” Even more critical in a historic election year, “Here’s the Deal” breaks down and simplifies Capitol Hill happenings and their relevance to the everyday lives of Americans.

Eleanore Catolico, Maynard 200 alum class of 2021, won second place in the Society for Features Journalism writing competition for the category “Inclusion and Representation in Features.”

Walter Smith Randolph, Maynard 200 class of 2023, was selected to the NABJ Leadership Academy Cohort 2024.

Angela Chen, Maynard 200 class of 2021, has been awarded a Carter Center Fellowship.Recipients of the Rosalyn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism pursue groundbreaking mental health journalism projects, reporting on the mental health’s biggest challenges, reducing stigma surrounding mental illness through storytelling, and driving change through community-oriented journalism.

Heidi Chang, 2002 Maynard Cross-Reporting Fellow, received the AAJA Award for Excellence in Audio Storytelling.

Rachel James-Terry Maynard 200 class of 2023, was named a “Woman to Watch” by PR Week.

Boston Globe mental health reporter and 2018 Maynard 200 alum Esmy Jimenez won one First Place and two Second Place awards from SPJ Washington.

2024 Maynard 200 Fellow Erica McIntosh received an Edward R. Murrow Award for her reporting on mini-documentary “Miss Gen from Georgia” with Connecticut Public Broadcasting.

2019 Maynard 200 alum Natasha S. Alford received her Masters in Public Policy from Princeton University, and her young son participated in awarding her degree, a moment which was captured for posterity.

2022 Maynard 200 alum Joe Ruiz was selected for a John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship. JSK fellows receive nine months of support at Stanford exploring and testing practical solutions to journalism’s systemic problems and urgent questions from AI to misinformation and mistrust in journalism.

Jasmine Vaughn-Hall, Maynard 200 class of 2021, won Best of Show from the MDDC Press Association.

Allison Jing Yang, 2024 Maynard 200 Fellow and Senior Editor of Initium Media, was recognized with a 2024 Human Rights Press Award for Investigative Writing.

Helina Selemon, Maynard 200 class of 2023, was recognized with a Solutions Journalism Award for her story on the heat crisis and gun violence. Last month, Helina co-presented data reporting methods for heat-related gun violence with faculty member Aaron Glantz.

Josh McGhee, Maynard 200 alum class of 2023 received several awards in quick succession: Josh was awarded a McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism and will be investigating how hospitals profit from involuntary mental health treatment laws.

He was also recognized with a 2024 Community Media Awards Studs Terkel Award for his work on criminal justice and mental health with MindSite News, and won Best Collaboration in the inaugural Stillwater Awards recognizing excellence in prison journalism.

Josh also received a Gold Award from Digital Health Awards for his coverage of criminal justice and mental health.

New Books and Podcasts

Dr. Jonathan P. Higgins, Maynard 200 class of 2018, just announced the release of their book, “Black Fat Femme,” based on their award-winning podcast, coming out March 25, 2025.

Maynard Media Academy alum Ebony Reed released “Fifteen Cents on the Dollar, How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap” with co-author Louise Story, and embarked on a successful press tour, giving many interviews explaining the concepts of wealth, debt, and generational security and how nearly 200 years after the end of chattel slavery and the first proposals of reparations, the Black-White wealth gap persists.

Industry Impact and Events

Brianna Tucker, Maynard 200 class of 2022 and Deputy Campaign Editor with the Washington Post, was voted NABJ Chair of the Political Task Force for 2024.

Anniversaries

Marian Chia-Ming Liu, 2021 Maynard 200 alum-turned-faculty, marked five years at the Washington Post. She also spearheaded the AAJA Style Guide project, an essential guide to covering Asian American and Pacific Islander communities with cultural competence and sensitivity.

Faculty and Leadership Updates

Faculty Member Ron Nixon was awarded the Dorothy Butler Gilliam Trailblazer Award by the Washington Association of Black Journalists for his own trailblazing career as an exemplary investigative journalist and for being an exceptional leader in journalism. The award was established in honor of Maynard Institute co-founder Dorothy Butler Gilliam, who in 1961 became the first Black woman reporter at the Washington Post and still retains a board position with the Maynard Institute.

Steve Padilla, Maynard 200 faculty member and Editor of the LA Times’ Column One, inducted into the NAHJ Hall of Fame.

Faculty member Aaron Glantz began his resident fellowship at the Center for the Advanced Study of the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, and will be using the same office in which Palestinian academic titan Edward Said wrote his most famous work, “Orientalism.” Building on his experience at the Carter Center, Glantz aims “to incubate an initiative that builds resilience for investigative journalists, human rights advocates, and others dedicated to social change.”

Board member Kevin Merida won a 2024 Richard M. Clurman Award for his superb on-the-job mentorship of young journalists from the University of Michigan Wallace Center for Journalists.

Sandra Clark, Maynard 200 faculty member, was listed as one of Editor & Publisher’s “15 over 50.”

Mei-Ling Hopgood, consultant and member of the extended Maynard Family was honored with a University Teaching Award.

Role Transitions and New Beats

Penda Howell, Maynard 200 class of 2019, joined the National News Publisher’s Association/The Black Press.

The Maynard Institute is proud to see Momo Chang join Civil Eats as their new Senior Editor after serving nearly five years as Co-Director of Oakland Voices.

Alison Saldanha, Maynard 200 class of 2022, left the Seattle Times and is headed to Dallas News.

The Maynard Family Continues to Grow

The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education is proud of all members of our Maynard Family. We’re excited to continue this work with optimism and passion for diversity and belonging in journalism, and can’t wait to see what our Fellowship graduates and Fault Lines training recipients will do next to build inclusive and equitable news ecosystems in the new year.

Our work is made possible by individual donors, The California Endowment, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Democracy Fund, Ford Foundation, The Hearthland Foundation, Inasmuch Foundation, Knight Foundation, Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation, The Reva and David Logan Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.

About the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education

Since 1977, the Maynard Institute has fought to push back against the systemic lack of diversity in the news industry through training, collaborations and convenings. Founded by Robert C. Maynard, the Institute promotes diversity and antiracism in the news media through improved coverage, hiring and business practices. We are creating better representation in U.S. newsrooms through our programs , which gives media professionals of color the tools to become skilled storytellers, empowered executives and inspired entrepreneurs.

Are you an alum with exciting professional news?

Contact Community Engagement Coordinator, Amani Hamed, at ahamed(at)mije(dot)org to be featured in our next Maynard Family Update.

The 2024 Maynard 200 Fellowship is designed to sharpen skills, provide hands-on training as well as a one-to-one year-long mentorship, and build a community of peer support. This year’s curriculum has been updated with a hyperfocus on the critical role editors and managers play in today’s newsrooms. Hosted by the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at TCU, fellows benefit from two weeks of in-person training sessions and workshops led by industry leaders. This blog highlights just a few of the 2024 Maynard 200 Faculty who will be leading the fellows through their second week of training with presentations carefully crafted to build leadership skills and hone managerial instincts.

Ethical Editorial Decision-Making

Faculty: Maria Carrillo

Maria is a consultant and coach after spending 36 years in seven newsrooms. She was enterprise editor at the Tampa Bay Times and Houston Chronicle, and, before that, managing editor at The Virginian-Pilot. She has edited dozens of award-winning projects, frequently lectures on narrative journalism and co-hosts a podcast about craft called WriteLane.

She is a board member of the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism as well as the National Press Photographers Association and a juror for the Hillman Prizes.
Maria was born in Washington, D.C., two years after her parents left Cuba in exile. She now lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Managing Up, Down and Across Generations

Faculty: P. Kim Bui

P. Kim Bui is a 2023-24 John S. Knight Journalism fellow. Recently, she was senior director of product and audience innovation at the Arizona Republic. A native Iowan, she’s focused her career on leading real-time news initiatives and creating new storytelling forms for digital, print and broadcast companies catering to local, national and global audiences.

Prior, she was editor-at-large for NowThis News and deputy managing editor for reported.ly, a distributed social journalism startup.

She was in the inaugural class of the Executive Program in News Innovation and Leadership from City University of New York’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. She’s spoken on journalism and leadership worldwide and written about empathy in journalism for a number of research outlets. She writes a newsletter for emerging leaders: The Middles.

Breakout Workshop: Human Capital: Training & Retaining Talent

Faculty: Caroline Ceniza-Levine

Caroline Ceniza-Levine is a career expert, media personality, and founder of the Dream Career Club. Caroline is a Senior Contributor to Forbes.com, Top LinedIn Voice for Executive Coaching, Career Counseling, and Personal Development, and former career columnist for Money.com, Time.com, CNBC, and Portfolio. She has been a repeat guest expert on CBS, CNN, CNBC, and Fox Business and has been quoted in major media outlets, including BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Fortune, Inc, NPR, and The Wall Street Journal.

As an executive coach, Caroline has worked with professionals from Amazon, American Express, Condé Nast, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, Tesla, and other leading firms. She designed and oversees the career program for the Columbia Business School Executive Program in Management and is the creator of the online courses “Behind the Scenes in the Hiring Process” and “Making FIRE Possible.”

Caroline is the author of “Jump Ship: 10 Steps to Starting a New Career.” A classically-trained pianist at Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music, Caroline performed stand-up comedy in NYC clubs for 10 years and is currently a producer and writer with FBC Films. A native New Yorker, Caroline divides her time among Florida, New York, and Costa Rica and blogs about her journey to the land of Pura Vida on Costa Rica FIRE.

Keys to Effective Leadership

Faculty: Virgil Smith

Virgil L. Smith is the founder and Principal of the Smith Edwards Group, LLC, a consulting firm he established in 2015 after a distinguished 24-year career at the Gannett Company. Prior to his retirement, Smith held various leadership roles, including President and Publisher at the Stockton Record and Asheville Citizen-Times as well as a corporate HR executive responsible for talent development and diversity across broadcast, print, and digital operations.
Before joining Gannett, Smith spent two decades at the McClatchy Company, where he held executive positions such as Human Resources Director, Director of Consumer Marketing, and Chief Labor Negotiator.

Throughout his career, Smith has helped numerous professionals achieve their career and life goals. In addition to his work as a consultant and career coach, Smith is currently the President of the Board of Trustees for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. He has served as a Trustee since 2005.

Smith authored the book “The Keys for Effective Leadership” and has been recognized for his contributions by numerous professional and community organizations.
His awards include the Ida B. Wells Award for Distinguished Leadership, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Asheville Human Relations Council, and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy of Peace, Justice, and Community Award. Smith holds a Bachelor of Science and Master’s degree from the University of San Francisco and an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the University of North Carolina Asheville. He resides in Atlanta with his wife, Joann Smith, PhD.

Strategizing Audience Growth Across Multiple Platforms & Special Projects

Faculty: Marian Chia-Ming Liu

For the past two decades, Marian Liu has worked across newspapers and digital platforms, diving into what resonates with readers in the local, national, and global news cycle.
Her career has always been about reflecting the communities she represents – Asian, immigrant and female, covering everything from Korean Pop to health disparities across communities.

Currently, Marian Chia-Ming Liu is The Washington Post’s Projects Editor of Special Newsroom Initiatives and Partnerships, focused on developing innovative new ways to reach new readers. She’s managed several projects and section launches, including the new Style section covering news from the frontlines of culture; Well+Being, wellness stories on bodies of all shapes, sizes and colors, and the Pulitzer-winning series “The Attack: Before, During, and After.”

Before The Post, she was a writer, music critic, and editor at CNN in Hong Kong and several newspapers, including the Seattle Times, San Jose Mercury News, Source Magazine, and the South Florida Sun Sentinel, where she launched a hyperlocal entertainment site and app. Liu also directed the student multimedia convention projects for the Asian American Journalists Association and UNITY. She serves as National Vice PResident of Civic Engagement for AAJA and is developing an updated style guide for the AANHPI community.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion & Artificial Intelligence

Faculty: Ernesto Aguilar

Born in East Houston, Ernesto Aguilar’s life was transformed by public media. His career has traversed daily newspapers and alternative weeklies to public radio news and program director roles.

At KQED, he oversees radio broadcast content and DEI initiatives in the organization’s Content division. He is former co-chair of the KQED DEI Council.

In his spare time, he writes OIGO, a newsletter on public media and diverse audiences. Prior to KQED, Aguilar served stations as executive director of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters. He was also part of the founding committee of Public Media for All, an initiative aimed at organizing radio stations around actionable DEI outcomes.

A Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education Fellow, Sulzberger Executive LEadership Fellow, and Public Media CEO/COO Bootcamp graduate, Aguilar has a B.A. in journalism, with minors in sociology and Women’s Studies from the University of Houston.

Keys to the Executive Office

Faculty: Katrice Hardy

Katrice is vice president and executive editor of The Dallas Morning News. Previously, she was executive editor of The Indianapolis Star and Midwest regional editor for USA Today Network. When Katrice joined the network in 2016, she was the executive editor of The Greenville News and then took on responsibilities as the South regional editor overseeing news organizations in South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia.

Previously, she had worked for 20 years at The Virginian-Pilot where she started as an intern and left as managing editor. Her IndyStar newsroom and its reporting partners The Marshall Project, AL.com, and Invisible Institute were awarded the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for “Mauled: When Police Dogs Are Weapons,” and the newsrooms where she has led have won multiple IRE and Editor and Publisher awards, and myriad state honors as well. She is a board member of the Marshall Project, a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, the Dallas Assembly and the International Women’s Forum.

Katrice believes strongly that a news organization’s role is to shine light on wonderful people and organizations making a difference in local communities and to uncover the problems, ills, misuses and abuses to help make positive change.

Difficult Conversations With Role Play

Faculty: Sandra Clark

Sandra Clark, featured in Editor and Publisher’s “15 Over 50” Class of 2024, is CEO of StoryCorps and is a leading voice in journalism and beyond, challenging norms and practices that create barriers to building trust and meaningful, sustainable connections with communities. At StoryCorps, she leads the award-winning organization’s mission to help us believe in each other by recording and sharing stories from everyday people that illuminate the humanity and possibility in us all.

Prior to joining StoryCorps, Clark was Vice President for News and Civic Dialogue at WHYY in Philadelphia. Her innovative approaches to collaborating with grassroots information providers garnered national recognition. Previously, Clark served as Managing Editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer, leading the paper to a 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. She is a longtime visiting coach and mentor for the Maynard Institute.

Faculty: Andy Alford

Andy Alford is The Texas Tribune’s director of recruitment, training and career development. She also manages the Tribune’s fellowship program, which employs student fellows to work in all areas of the organization, including on teams in the newsroom, as well as the events, product development, and marketing and communication teams.

Andy came to the Tribune in 2022 after a long stretch at the Austin American-Statesman, where she rose from reporter to managing editor. Alford had a nearly 19-year tenure at the Statesman where she had various roles, including local editor, data journalist on the investigative team and community affairs reporter.

Convening in-person on July 15

The Maynard 200 Fellowship program is made possible thanks to all members of the 2024 faculty and mentors and the second training week kicks off on July 15.

Our university host partners at TCU’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication have been instrumental in welcoming the Maynard 200 Fellowship, including Chair of the Journalism Department, Dr. Uche Onyebadi, and long-standing TCU faculty member, Associate Professor of Professional Practice and Director of Student Media Journalism, Jean Marie Brown has also been instrumental in welcoming the Maynard 200 Fellowship. The reception on July 18 will include an address by the Dean of TCU’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication, Dr. Kristie Bunton.

Also rejoining the fellows for week two of their Maynard 200 training are Executive-in-Residence Felecia Henderson and faculty members John X. Miller, Tom Huang, and Dickson Louie.

Read the bios for all week 2 faculty (PDF).

About the Maynard Institute

For more than 45 years, the Maynard Institute has fought to push back against the systemic lack of diversity in the news industry through training, collaborations and convenings. Founded by Robert C. Maynard, the Institute promotes diversity and antiracism in the news media through improved coverage, hiring and business practices. We are creating better representation in America’s newsrooms through our Maynard 200 fellowship program, which gives media professionals of color the tools to become skilled storytellers, empowered executives and inspired media entrepreneurs.

About the Maynard 200 Fellowship

Maynard 200 is the cornerstone program advancing the Maynard Institute’s efforts to expand the diversity pipeline in news media and dismantle structural racism in its newsrooms. Since 2018, the Maynard Institute has trained media leaders, storytellers, editors, managers and entrepreneurs through the fellowship program. Maynard 200 is designed to sharpen skills, provide hands-on training as well as a one-to-one year-long mentorship, and build a community of peer support for diverse journalists. In 2024, the program returns with two weeks of in-person training rounds — specifically designed to support the success of newsroom editors and managers. Hosted by the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, the program will convene in March and July of 2024.

Maynard 200 is made possible thanks to the support of our generous funders Craig Newmark Philanthropies, The Hearthland Foundation and McClatchy.

Questions?

For more information about the Maynard 200 Fellowship, please reach out to:
Maynard 200 Director, Odette Alcazaren-Keeley at okeeley@mije.org.

We want to hear from you! The Maynard Institute’s annual community survey helps us to better understand the needs of our alumni and to shape our programs, training offerings, and events. We strive to foster an inclusive sense of ownership and empowerment within our community through this survey practice. Take the survey and join us in shaping the future of the Maynard Institute.

Survey input creates real-life impact

When we launched our first community survey in 2022, we learned that certain communities of our alumni were less engaged than others. For example, a lower percentage of survey respondents were Asian American journalists than we had expected. We used this feedback to prioritize reconnecting with the community in a few ways.

First, as part of the Vision 25 Belonging in the News virtual discussion series, coordinated in partnership with Online News Association and Open News, we featured editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, Versha Sharma. From 2015 to 2021, Sharma was managing editor at NowThis, where she shared in a 2018 Edward R. Murrow Award for a documentary on Hurricane Maria’s effects on Puerto Rico. Teen Vogue, a web-only Condé Nast publication, pivoted to become a strong voice on social justice issues in recent years and we invited Sharma to share her experience as the first South Asian American woman to helm Teen Vogue.

Second, we hosted a networking happy hour at the 2022 Asian American Journalists Association conference featuring Jeff Yang and Phil Yu, guest speakers and co-authors of the book RISE: A Pop History of Asian America from the Nineties to Now. The sold out, outdoor reception was a joyous celebration and for many attendees, it was the first in-person networking gathering since the pandemic began in 2020. The success of the event proved that our extended Maynard Family is eager for opportunities to connect with each other.

Third, the Maynard Institute’s local community journalism program Oakland Voices hosted a meetup featuring special guest, Thi Bui. Thi Bui was born in Vietnam and came to the United States in 1978 as part of the “boat people” wave of refugees fleeing Southeast Asia at the end of the Vietnam War. Her debut graphic memoir, The Best We Could Do (Abrams ComicArts, 2017) has been selected for an American Book Award, a Common Book for UCLA and other colleges and universities, an all-city read by Seattle and San Francisco public libraries, a National Book Critics Circle finalist in autobiography, and an Eisner Award finalist in reality-based comics. In a lively and frank discussion, Bui shared the challenges of getting a fine arts degree with professors who did not have the cultural competency to value storytelling that centered her Asian American identity.

These programming efforts were not only successful events, they helped increase the engagement among Asian American journalists in our community survey the following year.

How will your survey input help guide our programming in the future? We can’t wait to find out! Take the survey today.

About the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education

Since 1977, the Maynard Institute has fought to push back against the systemic lack of diversity in the news industry through training, collaborations and convenings. Founded by Robert C. Maynard, the Institute promotes diversity and antiracism in the news media through improved coverage, hiring and business practices. We are creating better representation in U.S. newsrooms through our programs , which gives media professionals of color the tools to become skilled storytellers, empowered executives and inspired entrepreneurs.

The Democracy Fund held its annual grantee convening in Detroit on May 6-8, 2024. The convening serves to connect leaders across fields in a collaborative and inclusive environment to build a vision for the future. On the second day of the convening, the Maynard Institute’s Co-Executive Director Martin G. Reynolds was surprised to be honored with a speech by Paul Waters, Director of the Digital Democracy Initiative.

Each year, Waters surprises someone in attendance whose commitment to upholding democracy through the advancement of journalism makes them a lynchpin of the community. Previous honorees have included Tracie Powell of the Pivot Fund, Geneva Overholser, former editor of the Des Moines Register, and Maynard Institute Co-Executive Director Evelyn Hsu.

On the convening’s second day at the historic Gem Theater, Waters honored Reynolds, saying, “I would like to recognize someone who has lived out the command to love your enemies. Someone who recognizes that forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. Rather, forgiveness means that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship.”

Waters related Reynolds’ accomplishments as Editor-In-Chief of the Oakland Tribune, Co-Founder of Oakland Voices, and Co-Executive Director of the Maynard Institute. His many years of experience, infectiously positive attitude, and tireless dedication to building community place him firmly in the path of his Oakland Tribune predecessors, Bob, Nancy, and Dori Maynard and the intrepid Chauncey Bailey.

Waters continued, calling Reynolds “an emissary for an America that does not yet exist,” in reference to his work implementing the Maynard Institute’s Fault Lines training program.

“Instead of sowing hate and division, Martin has taught and trained newsrooms to span the Fault Lines of race, gender, sexual orientation, generation, geography, and class, as they apply to journalists, newsroom collaboration, and coverage,” Waters said.

Read the full remarks by Waters below.

“Loving your Enemies – Strength to Love”

Speech by Paul Waters honoring Martin G. Reynolds
Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Ye have heard it said of old that thou shall love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.

Good Morning and welcome to day two of our stakeholder gathering.

Starting all the way back in the Spring of 2017, I have been lucky to be able to lift up some of the values and practices required to successfully push for reform in spite of overwhelming odds and challenging circumstances. Given the exceptional group of folks Angelica has assembled, I could pick almost anyone as a role model for demonstrating what Martin Luther King called the Strength to Love.

In our very first meeting in Washington, DC, we honored Tracie Powell as a transformed nonconformist, someone fighting to improve journalism in ways that are always costly and never altogether comfortable, but with an enduring humble and loving spirit. Even while recognizing that change will not come overnight, Tracie continues to work with the faith that it is on the horizon.

In our second gathering, we saluted Geneva Overholser as a leader who had taken the desire to be first in recognition and importance – that drum major instinct – and recast it to be first in love, first in moral excellence, and first in generosity.

In our 2018 gathering in St. Petersburg, Florida, we recognized Evelyn Hsu…A leader who for over a quarter century has dedicated her personal and professional life to creating opportunities for journalists and communities of color. Since that time, I have come to revere Evelyn’s work to further the legacy and piece together the dreams of Robert and particularly Dori Maynard, following her tragic and sudden death.

In Austin, TX, we commended Dr. Michelle Ferrier as someone who has truly hewn a stone of hope out of a mountain of despair. Neither glamor nor glory await a canary in a coal mine and few have emerged from their mountain so dedicated to lifting up others.

In our last gathering in 2019, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, (shout out Lea!) we celebrated Dr. Jessica Mahone and Estizer Smith, Esq. Their lives are a testament to Justice Sonya Sotomayor’s declaration that there are uses to adversity, that don’t reveal themselves until tested. Whether it’s serious illness, financial hardship, or the simple constraint of parents who speak limited English, difficulty can tap unsuspected strengths.

From the Chocolate City, to the Sunshine City, to the Motor City, turn to your neighbor and say: We’ve been at this for a minute.

And so now, with the very brief time I have remaining I would like to recognize someone who has lived out the command to love your enemies. Someone who recognizes that forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. Rather, forgiveness means that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship.

All Gop: 1:08 – 2:08

Who’s that knocking on your door?
Who’s that peering through your window?
Who’s that got you on the floor?
Bop City baby, Bop City baby

This is Bop City’s version of hip hop / neo soul
I’m the mad hatter in control
My zodiac sign Leo
Occupation – journalist, lyrical pro
Some say son you need to grow up
You can’t rely on the fact that one day you might blow up

I could hunker down pull my bootstraps up
Become Johnny journalism make my way on up through the ladder

And all the bad dress writers scatter
Sitting in endless meetings having to relieve my bladder
I could do it – run a newspaper or few, but putting down the mic ain’t the thing Ima’ bout to do

Huah

Win a Grammy and a Pulitzer
Wanna be the lyrical CNN Wolf Blitzer
Sittin’ in the Bay Wolf drinking a spritzer with Bu and D sippen in the town baby rippen

Who’s that knocking on your door?
Who’s that peering through your window?
Who’s that got you on the floor?
Bop City baby, Bop City baby

Who’s that? Our soul brother, Martin Reynolds aka MC Hoflow, is thankfully not the sole brother at this gathering.

Martin grew up in Berkeley and worked his way up the ladder at the Oakland Tribune from a 1995 Chips Quinn Scholarship to Editor-in-Chief from 2008 to 2011.
A journalist, lyricist, and father, Martin is the co-founder of Oakland Voices and the co-Executive Director of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.

Martin has engaged newsrooms across the country as an emissary for an America that does not yet exist. Instead of sowing hate and division, Martin has taught and trained newsrooms to span the faultiness of race, gender, sexual orientation, generation, geography, and class, as they apply to journalists, newsroom collaboration, and coverage.

Martin, continue to work with the faith that one day we shall win freedom, but not only for ourselves. Your work to appeal to the heart and conscious will win our enemies in the process, and our victory will be a double victory.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for being a part of this community.

About the Democracy Fund

Democracy Fund is an independent foundation that works to ensure the American political system operates with equity, adapting to new challenges in the 21st century and safeguarding democracy for all Americans. “Committed to building an inclusive and multiracial democracy in the United States,” the Digital Democracy Initiative is grounded in creating “equitable digital civic infrastructure” to guarantee that civil and human rights protections extend to the digital realm.

The work of the Maynard Institute would not be possible without generous support from the Democracy Fund and our additional funders.

Our blog readers are invited to check out the track with lyrics by Reynolds referenced in the speech above. Listen to All Gop by Bop City Pacific on Spotify.

As we count the days until the Maynard 200 Fellowship reconvenes at TCU Bob Schieffer College of Communications in July, we’re celebrating the achievements of the Maynard Institute fellows, faculty and alums as they continue to create impact in their roles. Join us in celebrating all they have already accomplished in the last few months.

Role Transitions and New Beats

We celebrate the newest addition to The 19th team, Fernanda Santos, who joined as the new managing editor.

Congrats to former news editor Carolyn Copeland on her new role at Prism as managing editor.

Dorany Pineda started a new beat covering water, climate, and the environment in Latino communities across the U.S.

Jacob Simas, was recently promoted to Community Journalism Director at Cityside, which launched a new publication, Richmondside.

Awards and Fellowships

Rachel James Terry, director of Jackson State University’s Public Relations, was recognized with an award for Outstanding Professional of the Year by the Public Relations Association of Mississippi. She was also welcomed by ForbesBLK, “a platform and community that amplifies the voices of Black entrepreneurs, professionals, leaders, and creators.”

Aallyah Wright and the Capital B team won a Silver Anthem Community Voice Award for Human and Civil Rights News and Journalism for Wright’s work on a 2023 story on Black voter and candidate suppression: “In 2023, Aallyah Wright, Capital B’s rural issues reporter, set out to tell a shocking story that uncovered years of racist harassment and intimidation targeting Patrick Braxton, a Black mayor in rural Alabama, who was blocked from taking office in his majority Black town by its majority-white council (none of whom were elected themselves).”

Eleanore Catolico joined the Journalism and Women Symposium 2024 class of Health Journalism Fellows, and is working on a solution-based long-form story examining efforts to increase the number of people of color participating in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s drugs.

Luella Brien, founder of Four Points Media was awarded another prestigious fellowship and became a member of the inaugural Emerging News Leadership cohort at CUNY.

Helina Selemon, health and science reporter for the Blacklight investigative unit at New York Amsterdam News, was selected to be a Society of Environmental Journalists diversity fellow.

2024 Maynard 200 Fellow Allison Jing Yang was selected for yet another prestigious fellowship with The Ford Foundation! One of 26 members of the Ford Global Fellowship cohort, Jing Yang told the Ford Foundation she “believes that journalism needs to take new approaches to engaging and informing readers. She believes that games and new mediums can change how people think about issues of inequality and challenge stereotypes and biases.”

New Books and Podcasts

Natasha Alford published her memoir American Negra and began her multi-city book tour! The examination of identity and the American dream is fresh off the presses, and Alford has made appearances on CNN, ABC, and Good Morning America to discuss the genesis of her memoir and her experiences as an Afro-Latina of African American and Puerto Rican origin.

Ashton Lattimore, Editor-in-Chief at Prism Reports, published “All We Were Promised,” her debut novel and a work of historical fiction set in 1837 Philadelphia, in which a housemaid and an abolitionist plot to help an enslaved girl escape after she’s brought to the city, then a powder keg of tension between pro-slavery rioters and abolitionists. Though only two weeks into publication, the book is receiving excellent reviews on platforms like Goodreads.

Ngoc Nguyen began crowdfunding for her forthcoming podcast “The First Wave,” about the first 120,000 Vietnamese refugees to reach American shores after the fall of Saigon.

Meena Thiruvengadam traveled to Antarctica, her 7th continent. She also made it into not one but two Lonely Planet guidebooks.

Bourree Lam and Julia Carpenter published The Wall Street Journal’s first guide book in 20 years, the New Rules of Money.

William Sanchez II is keeping everyone on their toes by hinting at the release of his new podcast.

Industry Impact and Events

Alicia Ramirez, founder of Riverside Record, spoke at the informational hearing of the senate committee on judiciary about the importance of journalism in the digital age and to call on state legislators to make sure small local news publishers are at the table for any potential legislative solution to the local new crisis. (Jan) The Riverside Record was also included in a roundup of Local Journalism Worth Reading by the New York Times.

Amanda Barrett served as a coach with the Media Transformation Challenge Program and shared “I am so blessed to serve as a coach and witness their growth and development.”

Brandon T. Harden, editor at Bloomberg Business, moderated a panel on the Commodification of Black Creativity, Safe Spaces, and Ownership for the Black Professional Community at Bloomberg.

Anniversaries

Maynard 200 alum Jahna Berry celebrated four years as COO of Mother Jones.

In May, Annie Guo VanDan will celebrate 18 years as president of Asian Avenue Magazine.

Corinne Chin celebrates two years as Director of News Talent/Recruitment with the Associated Press.

Dalila-Johari Paul celebrated one year of being National Editor with Capital B News. Capital B News “is a local-national nonprofit news organization that centers Black voices, audience needs and experiences, and partners with the communities we serve.”

Emily Elena Dugdale celebrates 1 year with the Fuller Project. Dugdale is a seasoned investigative journalist covering criminal justice. As a member of the Fuller Project Team, Dugdale has been investigating allegations of serial rape against a Colorado cardiologist, digging into court records and investigating the possibility that dating apps used by the serial attacker to find victims knew of his dangerous behavior.

Maria Bastidas celebrated one year of her Latina Leads program. Bastidas said, “Over the past year, we’ve had the privilege of serving over 300 young Latinas through our Leadership Workshops, equipping them with essential skills, boosting their self-esteem, and providing them with tools to confront bullying and prepare to create inspiring social media content, videos, and sketches.”

Tierra Hayes was voted employee of the month at the Chattanooga Times Free Press for the second time. Hayes just celebrated one year as the Digital and Engagement Editor at the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and is already making waves and hiring new team members.

Faculty and Leadership Updates

Aaron Glantz will be joining the Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences as a fellow. The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences is an interdisciplinary research lab at Stanford University and fellows conduct research in a variety of fields including anthropology, archaeology, business, communication, economics, geography, history, language and literature, law, medicine, political science, psychology, and sociology.

Maynard Institute Board Member Kevin Merida, former Executive Editor of the LA Times, and Ron Nixon, Maynard200 Faculty member, cofounder of the Ida B. Wells Society, and VP of investigative, enterprise, grants and partnerships with the Associated Press, celebrated Oscar wins!

Kevin Merida shouted out former colleagues on Twitter after “The Last Repair Shop” won for Best Documentary Short. The film followed the team that repairs instruments for the Los Angeles Unified School District music classes, and was distributed by The Los Angeles Times Studios and Searchlight. This Oscar win marked a first for the LA Times.

Ron Nixon congratulated the team and quoted “20 Days In Mariupol” director Mstyslav Chernov, who used his acceptance speech to draw attention to the “humanitarian catastrophe” in his native Ukraine, and said he wished he had never had to make the film.

Nixon had led some of the original coverage of Russia’s attacks on the Ukrainian city, and guided the film as VP of investigations with the Associated Press. The feature-length documentary was a joint venture between the Associated Press and PBS Frontline.

The Maynard Family Continues to Grow

The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education is proud of all members of our Maynard Family. We’re excited to move forward into 2024 with optimism and passion for diversity and belonging in journalism, and can’t wait to see what our Fellowship graduates and Fault Lines training recipients will do next to build inclusive and equitable news ecosystems in the new year.

Our work is made possible by individual donors, The California Endowment, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Democracy Fund, Ford Foundation, The Hearthland Foundation, Inasmuch Foundation, Knight Foundation, Jacob and Valeria Langeloth Foundation, The Reva and David Logan Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.

About the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education

Since 1977, the Maynard Institute has fought to push back against the systemic lack of diversity in the news industry through training, collaborations and convenings. Founded by Robert C. Maynard, the Institute promotes diversity and antiracism in the news media through improved coverage, hiring and business practices. We are creating better representation in U.S. newsrooms through our programs , which gives media professionals of color the tools to become skilled storytellers, empowered executives and inspired entrepreneurs.

Are you an alum with exciting professional news?

Contact Community Engagement Coordinator, Amani Hamed, at ahamed(at)mije(dot)org to be featured in our next Maynard Family Update.

Do you live in Oakland and have a story to tell? The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education is now accepting applications for Oakland Voices, a six-month program designed to empower Oakland residents through newswriting, photography, and community storytelling. The 2024 program is hybrid model, with both in-person meetings and virtual instruction via Zoom, plus a planned in-person graduation celebration. Correspondents will receive a $1,500 stipend for participation and completing assignments. No previous media experience required.

Applications are due by Sunday, April 14, at 11:59 PM PDT. Apply using this online form (Google account required). Select applicants will be invited for an interview. Interviews begin April 8.

Program Overview

• Oakland Voices correspondents will be expected to attend virtual meetings throughout the six-month program, on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month.
• Attend an in-person orientation at the beginning of the academy.
• Attend at least three in-person Saturday trainings, May – October.
• Complete six assignments and other activities and exercises.

Storytelling with a love for the Town

Many of our correspondents join Oakland Voices because they want to reshape common misperceptions of their communities, portraying them instead as dynamic places where real people struggle, succeed, and thrive. Our team members also join the program because they have a passion for telling stories — with the camera, and with the pen. Oakland Voices allows correspondents to explore both their sense of mission and their love for storytelling, while also acquiring skills they can take into their personal and professional lives.

Oakland Voices correspondents are trained in digital media storytelling — writing blogs and online pieces, taking photos, shooting video, and using social media to discuss issues that matter most in their communities. Correspondents also learn journalism ethics and editorial decision-making, interview basics, and story craft. They use those tools to report on a wide range of issues highlighting the triumphs and challenges of life in Oakland, including community heroes and heroines, health and wealth disparities, and more.

Application Requirements

Online applications must by submitted by Sunday, April 14, 2023, at 11:59 PM PDT. Applicants must be an Oakland resident over 18 years old with access to a stable internet connection via computer or mobile device in order to participate in virtual meetings. Students in their senior year of high school are eligible and unhoused residents, low-income, and community members of color are encouraged to apply. A Google account is necessary to access the online application form. Visit the Oakland Voices website to learn more about the program requirements and submit your application using this online form (Google account required).

Maynard Institute programs are open to all. The Institute is committed to addressing the under-representation of people of color and other historically disadvantaged groups in media-related professions. For questions about sponsoring an Oakland Voices correspondent or donating to the program, contact us to learn more.

2024 Program Dates

Intensives

• Friday, May 10 – Opening Dinner
• Saturday, May 11 – Orientation and Training #1
• Saturday, June 15 – Training #2
• Saturday, July 13 – Training #3
• Saturday, August 10 – Training #4*
• Saturday, September 14 – Training #5
• Saturday, October 12 – Training #6*

Bi-Weekly Learning Sessions

• Thursday, May 9, 6-8 p.m.*
• Thursday, May 23, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, June 13, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, June 27, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, July 11, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, July 25, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, August 8, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, August 22, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, September 12, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, September 26, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, October 10, 6-8 p.m.
• Thursday, October 24, 6-8 p.m.

Note: Attendance is optional May 9, August 10 and October 12.

History of Oakland Voices

Founded in 2010, Oakland Voices emerged from a partnership between the Oakland Tribune and The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. Oakland Voices connects correspondents with more than a dozen media professionals to teach correspondents. Participants work individually and in teams, creating content for the Oakland Voices website. This content may also be published by program partners such as The Oaklandside or KALW Public Radio. The collaborative, applied learning approach means correspondents quickly become aware of their power and responsibility as storytellers, and as members of the media.

Staff and Alumni Correspondents

Rasheed Shabazz and Momo Chang serve as Co-directors of the Oakland Voices program. Martin Reynolds co-founded Oakland Voices and is co-executive director of the Maynard Institute. Evelyn Hsu is co-executive director of the Maynard Institute and contributes the training curriculum of the program.

Multiple cohorts of Oakland residents have completed the Oakland Voices program. Check out a summary listing of all the correspondents by project years since 2010.