In October, the 2021 cohort of Maynard 200 fellows gathered for week-long intensive training sessions joined by more than 60 executive level faculty and mentors whose caliber mirror back the wide representation of our fellows of diverse heritage and geography affiliation at mainstream and ethnic media outlets across disciplines and expertise. The convening plenary kicked off with a fireside chat featuring Kevin Merida, executive editor of the Los Angeles Times and Maynard Institute board member.

How Maynard 200 is meeting the moment

Maynard 200 Program Director, Odette Alcazaren-Keeley, helped set the tone for the keynote session by describing the high stakes facing Maynard 200 fellows today.

“In a climate where local journalism is under threat– in the print sector alone – today half of all daily newspapers in the United States are controlled by financial firms. For example, The Atlantic’s recent cover story points to newsrooms being gutted by hedge fund Alden Global Capital,” she said.

One of the Maynard Institute’s core programs, the Maynard 200 Fellowship provides advanced training to mid-career journalists of color to prime them as candidates for higher leadership roles. As industry leaders, Maynard 200 fellows have the opportunity to change the management culture including hiring practices in institutional and entrepreneurial news organizations.

“We look to our legacy values and groundbreaking work at the Maynard Institute, rooted in trust equity and belonging to change the culture and American media. And all of you, the voices of our fellows resound. We stand together with you in your work in defending the soul of our democracy,” Alcazaren-Keeley added.

Maynard Institute Co-executive director Evelyn Hsu addressed the group, thanking Merida and all the faculty for their support. Detailing the ways the Maynard family survives through the graduates of programs like Maynard 200.

Looking back on Merida’s career journey

In conversation with Maynard Institute’s co-executive director Martin Reynolds, Merida shared insights from his journalism career, from his earliest days to today as executive editor of the Los Angeles Times, the largest news gathering organization in the Western United States.

“It’s certainly nostalgic just listening to Evelyn talk about the history. Evelyn and I were classmates in the Maynard Instute’s 1979 summer program. And with that pioneering spirit that Bob Maynard had, it’s really important to remember history and how far we’ve come.”

Merida reflected on his journey in relation to Robert C. Maynard’s journey as well.

“This program is why I feel so close to Maynard and this family. It really helped shape my career as one of the most important experiences of my life. We were celebrating our graduation in 1979 from the program but also Bob Maynard’s ascension to be the first African American editor in our country’s history at the Oakland Tribune.”

Merida would later become the first Black managing editor of the Washington Post, before becoming senior vice president at ESPN and editor-in-chief at The Undefeated.

The role of technology in shaping journalism today

When Reynolds asked for thoughts on trends in journalism, Merida suggested that the digital revolution has evolved to the point where technology is now a major driver in the industry. He explained that journalists fluent in technology have the power to change industry conventions and storytelling as a whole for the better.

“We talk a lot about the digital revolution. I say we’re all digital now, whatever medium you belong to, we’re already in a digital environment. People said content is king and that’s true. But technology is really king among kings because the way in which we are able to reach people and to drive different consumption habits. And in some ways, those consumption habits are driven by technology.”

“So as journalism evolves and people who have grown up in the digital era have fluency that didn’t previously exist they gravitate toward different kinds of storytelling. Even just the way stories are written, every part of our business conventions. We’re disrupting that, so why wouldn’t we disrupt it all?”

“Newsrooms have always had challenges, but now we have challenges in more public ways and I think that is good for our business. It’s going to make us better.”

Leadership lessons on the importance of transparency and newsroom culture

In response to the question “how do you define culture, and how can the Maynard 200 fellows use culture to their leadership advantage?” Merida said culture can serve newsrooms as a grounding principle for inclusion.

“I always think transparency can’t be underestimated. We have to have a lot more open conversations. As citizens of this workplace, what are we going to stand for? How are we gonna operate? What is the environment of inclusion? What do we do that brings ourselves closer to our community? Culture defines an environment where everybody is welcome, where we can accommodate all kinds of people.”

Merida closed the plenary session with a call to action that echoed the vision of the institute’s founder, Robert C. Maynard who declared in 1978, “We must desegregate this business…Newsrooms have a responsibility to cure the legacy of racism.” The Institute has trained three Maynard 200 cohorts, who are now being promoted in both mainstream and ethnic media newsrooms such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, theGrio, the Associated Press, The Washington Post, the Washington Informer, Mundo Hispanico, Queerency, Univision KDTV Bay Area, Nieman Journalism Lab, among many others. Some of them are also have been awarded grants for entrepreneurial media ventures. As the Maynard Family grows, the journalism industry becomes closer to curing the legacy of racism.

About Maynard 200 faculty and mentors

The Maynard 200 program is grateful to Kevin Merida and all members of this year’s faculty who led sessions and all who continue to serve as mentors. This year’s faculty is once again a high-caliber roster of 60+ executives in media and other relevant disciplines. Their expertise and representation mirror that of our fellows – of diverse heritage, geography across the United States and globally, affiliation at mainstream and ethnic media outlets as well as entrepreneurial ventures.

The Maynard 200 program includes three areas of focus: media entrepreneurship, executive leadership and storytelling. Each track is led by accomplished experts, and this year we are privileged to have media strategist Dickson Louie for media entrepreneurship, former newsroom C-suite executive Virgil Smith in executive leadership, and award-winning investigative reporter and author Aaron Glantz for storytelling. Dickson Louie and Virgil Smith serve on the institute’s board of directors as well.

Serving as track deputies this year are Emmanuel Martinez, data reporter at The Markup who was also a session speaker for Storytelling; and Waylae Gregoire, Partner, Head of Business Development at NextShark, for Media Entrepreneurship.

The Maynard Institute’s allies in the field have been instrumental in this year’s recruitment and selection of our stellar 2021 fellows including Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), Poynter Institute, the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York (CUNY), and Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ). Special thanks to IRE’s support for this year’s mentorship roster, which includes their distinguished board members and network partners.

The 2021 Maynard 200 Journalism Fellowship is supported by Google News Initiative, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, The Hearthland Foundation and the McClatchy Foundation.

The 2021 Faculty Roster

Plenary and Track Session Speakers:

• Kevin Merida – Executive Editor, Los Angeles Times / Board Member, Maynard Institute for Journalism Education
• Caroline Ceniza-Levine – Co-Founder, Dream Career Club
• Nicholas Whitaker – Well-Being and Mindfulness Coach
• Adriana Lacy – Freelance Journalist and Audience Strategist
• Jinah Kim – CEO and Founder, World Wise Productions/ NBC News correspondent
• Arthur Korteweg – Dean’s Associate Professor in Business Administration/Associate Professor of Finance and Business Economics, USC Marshall School of Business
• James Nixon – Vice President, Digital Product Management, Marketing Technology, Hilton
• Alison Saldanha – Data Reporter, NPR’s California Newsroom and the Seattle Times
• Emmanuel Martinez – Data Reporter, The Markup
• Catherine Eckstein – CEO, Cornerstone CMO / General Partner, Sonoran Founders Fund
• Tom Nixon – Owner, Tom Nixon Designs
• Sandra Clark – Vice President, News and Civic Dialogue, WHYY-FM, Philadelphia
• Katrice Hardy – Executive Editor, The Dallas Morning News

Mentors for Storytelling:

• Cheryl W. Thompson – Senior Editor, Station Investigations / Investigative Correspondent, NPR
• Monique O. Madan – National Investigative Reporter, USA TODAY
• Josh Hinkle – Director Investigations & Innovation / Political Host, KXAN/NBC Austin/Nexstar
• Deepa Fernandes – Correspondent / Senior Newsroom Advisor, Race and Equity, San Francisco Chronicle
• Priya Sridhar – Political Reporter, NBC San Diego
• Paul Radu – Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project [OOCRP]
• Yahya Abou-Ghazala – Production Assistant, CNN Investigates
• Jyoti Thottam – Senior Opinion Editor, The New York Times
• Alyssa Jeong Perry – Producer, NPR’s CodeSwitch
• Leslie Eaton – Senior Editor, Investigations, The Marshall Project
• John Harden – Data Reporter, The Washington Post
• Jazmine Ulloa – Congress / National Politics Reporter, The Boston Globe
• Jordan Rau – Senior Correspondent, Kaiser Health News
• AC Thompson – Staff Reporter, ProPublica
• Kamala Kelkar – Senior Investigations Editor, KPCC and LAist

Mentors for Executive Leadership:

• Joanne Po – Head of Multimedia Content / Executive Producer, Coin Desk
• Regina Reyes – Vice President, News & Current Affairs, ABS-CBN Channel 2 – Philippines
• Michael Days – Former Vice President Diversity and EIC, Philly Daily News / Partner, Editors on Call, LLC
• Sandra Clark – Vice President, News and Civic Dialogue, WHYY-FM, Philadelphia
• Katrice Hardy – Executive Editor, The Dallas Morning News
• Henry Furhmann – Retired / Former Editor, Los Angeles Times
• Susan Leath – COO, The GroundTruth Project / Board Member, MIJE
• Debra Addams Simmons – History and Culture Executive Editor, National Geographic/ Board Member, MIJE
• Christian (Chris) Hendricks – President, Local Media Consortium / Managing Partner, Extol Digital / Venture Partner, Impact Venture Capital / Board Member, MIJE
• Joe DiNunzio – Executive Director, Mike and Renee Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, UC Davis
• Jose Carlos Zamora – Senior Vice President Strategic Communication, Univision News
• Amanda Barrett – Vice President/ Head of News Audience, The Associated Press/ M200 Alumna – Exec. Leadership-2019
• Maxie C. Jackson III – Chief Content Officer, New England Public Media / M200 Alumnus – Media Entrepreneurship-2019
• Ronnie Ramos – Executive Editor, Daily Memphian
• Adriana Lacy – Freelance Journalist / Audience Strategist

Mentors for Media Entrepreneurship:

• Aprill O. Turner – PR Strategist / Board Member, Maynard Institute for Journalism Education
• Bruce Koon – Former Public Media Executive, KQED / Consultant, Maynard Institute for Journalism Education
• Alli Joseph – Brand Evangelist / On-Camera Host / Journalist / Producer
• Ashley Alvarado – VP of Community Engagement and Strategic Initiatives, KPCC + Southern California Public Radio LAist ,
• Kim Bardakian – Senior Director, Partnerships, Kapor Center / Board Member, Maynard Institute for Journalism Education
• Mike McPhate – Founder, California Sun
• Alec Saelens – Manager, Solutions Journalism Network’s Revenue Project-SJN
• Jinah Kim – WorldWise Productions / Inventor, NIKO USA, LLC / Part-Time Correspondent, NBC News
• Roxann Stafford – Managing Director, The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund
• George Haj – President, Haj Media – Strategic Communications
• Marisa Porto – Assistant Dean of Administration, Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications – Hampton University / Former Publisher/Editor, Tribune Publishing’s Daily Press Media Group
• Sally Lehrman – CEO, The Trust Project
• Yasmin Namini – Digital Media Consultant + Advisor [Global]/ Former Chief Consumer Officer, The New York Times
• Candice Fortman – CEO / Executive Director, Outlier Media

The Maynard Institute congratulates board member Aprill O. Turner for being named the Special Honors recipient of the 2021 Patricia L. Tobin Media Professional Award by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). A seasoned public relations strategist with deep roots in the political world, Turner has led media strategy for several local and national political campaigns. Her expertise includes message development, media training, crisis communications and public affairs.

About the NABJ Patricia L. Tobin Media Professional Award

Patricia L. Tobin was a pioneering publicist, media entrepreneur, and co-founder of the National Black Public Relations Society. One of NABJ’s Special Honors, the Patricia L. Tobin Media Professional Award is given to an entrepreneur, public relations/advertising/marketing professional, or media owner that serves as a trailblazer in the media realm and is responsible for a positive impact of Black coverage and the media profession.

To be selected for this Special Honor, Turner is recognized through her work and service display a commitment to NABJ’s goal of fostering an exemplary group of professionals that honors excellence and outstanding achievements in Black journalism and outstanding achievement in the media industry as a whole.

Proud to follow in Tobin’s footsteps

“I am beyond honored to receive NABJ’s 2021 Pat Tobin Media Professional Award,” said Turner.

“NABJ member Pat Tobin of Los Angeles passed away in 2008. Tobin was president and CEO of Tobin and Associates, a prominent minority, woman-owned public relations firm. She was a dedicated activist for causes that impacted minorities, women and youth; and was co-founder of the National Black Public Relations Society.”

“It makes me proud to have had the opportunity to meet Pat Tobin and witness the large impact that she had. It also makes me proud to follow in her footsteps, especially in the love that we both have for public relations, seeing other Black professionals excel in it and how much we both love NABJ.” Aprill O. Turner, Maynard Institute board member and NABJ’s 2021 Patricia L. Tobin Media Professional Award Winner

The 2021 NABJ virtual awards ceremony on December 4th

NABJ inducted 8 new members into its Hall of Fame and awarded 14 Special Honors to Black journalists and communicators from around the world during a virtual awards ceremony December 4, 2021. The event streamed online and featured special guests, entertainment and interactive features. Read more about the 2021 NABJ award receipients.

NABJ offers innovative training, career advancement opportunities and advocacy initiatives for Black journalists and media professionals worldwide. The association’s annual awards honor the groundbreaking accomplishments of Black journalists and those who support the Black community in the media. Learn more about NABJ.

The Maynard 200 fellows reconvened virtually for their second week of intensive training, panel discussions, workshops, and mentorship. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 fellows have been unable to gather in-person. To help foster connections in the virtual program, fellows were invited to submit video clips shot from their individual locations and share their thoughts on the Maynard 200 program.

One of the Maynard Institute’s core programs, the Maynard 200 Fellowship provides advanced training to mid-career journalists of color to prime them as candidates for higher leadership roles. The program is designed with three tracks: Storytelling, Media Entrepreneurship, and Executive Leadership. During the week of trainings, daily plenary sessions kicked off with a watch party of these brief compilation videos for all fellows, faculty, and mentors to enjoy together.

Maynard 200 Storytellers

Each track is led by accomplished experts, and this year we are lucky to have award-winning investigative reporter and author Aaron Glantz for the storytelling track. Fellows in this track include: Marina Affo, Stephanie Casanova, Angela Chen, Eleanore Catolico, Rommel Conclara, Ruslan Gurzhiy, Estephany Haro Thalia Juarez Sarah Mizes-Tan Herb Pinder Cortlynn Stark Jasmine Vaughn-Hall, Mark Walker, Dalia Hatuqa, and Sameea Kamal.

Fellow Stephanie Casanova, who recently joined The Chicago Tribune as Breaking News and Criminal Justice Reporter, said, “Maynard 200 has helped me be more confident and push aside the imposter syndrome that would have prevented me from applying to this job in the first place.”

Maynard 200 Executive Leaders

Led by former newsroom C-suite executive Virgil Smith, fellows in the executive leadership track include Stephen Angeles, Charmayne Brown , Anica Butler, Tripp J. Crouse, Gary Estwick, Samantha Guzman, Lottie Joiner, Ashton R. Lattimore, Khalilah E. Liptrot, Marian Liu, Michelle Faust Raghavan, Rajeswari Ramanathan, Ross Terrell, Benet J. Wilson, and Tasha Stewart.

“This Maynard experience has really underscored all the ways that journalists of color are too often undervalued in dominant newsrooms. It’s just been incredible to be in a room of people, virtual though it may be, where you really feel like you are seen and you are heard and your contributions are deeply appreciated,” said fellow Khalilah L. Liptrot, Senior Producer of the Black News Channel’s AMplified with Aisha Mills in New York.

Maynard 200 Media Entrepreneurs

Media strategist Dickson Louie leads the media entrepreneurship track for fellows Annie Guo VanDan, Pete Camarillo, Clarisa Strohmeyer, , Jenee Darden, Felicia Purcell, Delonte Harrod, Kevon Paynter, Hannah Kim, Anuz Thapa, Meena Thiruvengadam, Marvin Ramirez, datejie cheko green, Travers Johnson, and Michelle Garcia.

“I’m so thankful for the Maynard 200 because I’m in a space of people who are also innovating in journalism but we’re not doing this alone, we’re doing this together,” said fellow Kevon Paynter, Founder and CEO of Bloc by Block News.

About the Maynard 200 Program

The Maynard Institute has trained two outstanding cohorts so far since 2018, who are now being promoted in both mainstream and ethnic media newsrooms such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, theGrio, the Associated Press, the Washington Informer, Mundo Hispanico, Nieman Journalism Lab, among many others, or earning grants for entrepreneurial media ventures. The continuation of this cornerstone program will be critical to advancing the Maynard Institute’s efforts to expand the diversity pipeline in American media and dismantle structural racism in its newsrooms. These leaders will have the opportunity to change the management culture including hiring practices in institutional and entrepreneurial news organizations.

The program is tuition-free thanks to funding by Google News Initiative, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, The Hearthland Foundation and the McClatchy Foundation.

Learn more about the 2021 Fellows.

Executive editor of the LA Times will open the first day of training

Our opening reception will feature a fireside-style chat between Maynard Institute co-executive director, Martin Reynolds and Kevin Merida, executive editor for the Los Angeles Times. Merida is also a member of the Maynard Institute board of directors and an alumni of the Maynard Institute’s Editing Program.

One of the Maynard Institute’s core programs, the Maynard 200 Fellowship provides advanced training to mid-career journalists of color to prime them as candidates for higher leadership roles.

The program seeks out journalism professionals currently working in three areas of focus: entrepreneurship, executive leadership and storytelling. Each track is led by accomplished experts, and this year we are lucky to have award-winning investigative reporter and author Aaron Glantz for storytelling, media strategist Dickson Louie for media entrepreneurship and former newsroom C-suite executive Virgil Smith in executive leadership.

“The relentless uncertainty of our time made it necessary for us to pivot back to an all-virtual training week to keep all participants safe. But what remains unchanged is our commitment at Maynard 200 to deliver cutting-edge training, diverse frameworks and a year-long 1:1 mentorship, grounded in MIJE’s core values of equity and belonging,” said Odette Alcazaren-Keeley, director of the Maynard 200 program.

“We are again privileged as in previous fellowship years, with the caliber of our faculty and also mentors, matched 1:1 to our 44 fellows. They represent expertise not only from general market and ethnic media, but across various disciplines as well— which align in our mission of advancing the leadership power, change agency and authentic voice of our fellows,” she explained.

“We look forward to strengthening the strong spirit of community that we built together with our M200 cohort since our first training week,” Alcazaren-Keeley added.

Maynard 200 fellowship accelerates careers through mentorship

The 2021 fellows completed their first week of intensive training in April of this year, where they attended panels and discussions formulated to hone their skills. Our fellows have already made huge strides and career changes with the support of their track chiefs.

The Institute has trained two outstanding cohorts prior to the 2021 class, who are now being promoted in both mainstream and ethnic media newsrooms such as the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, theGrio, the Associated Press, the Washington Informer, Mundo Hispanico, Nieman Journalism Lab, among many others, or earning grants for entrepreneurial media ventures.

After the formal training, fellows are paired with a high-level journalist who has committed to mentoring the fellow for a year.

The program is tuition-free thanks to funding by Google News Initiative, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, The Hearthland Foundation and the McClatchy Foundation. Learn more about the 2021 Fellows.

The Associated Press announced new members of the senior News leadership team to ensure AP maintains its standing as the world’s preeminent fact-based news organization. Maynard Institute alum Amanda Barrett, previously AP’s Deputy Managing Editor, was promoted to Vice President and Head of News Audience in September 2021.

From the announcement:

“In this new role, Amanda will have a relentless focus on how AP’s news is consumed online, by consumers on AP News and customers on AP Newsroom, as well on social media. At the heart of Amanda’s job is the audience experience — those we reach through our customers and the audiences we are growing on our own platforms and social media accounts. Amanda will also continue to oversee the Nerve Center and play a leading role in AP’s diversity and inclusion efforts, with the goal of ensuring that these priorities are shared and implemented across News.”

Reflections on the Maynard Institute programs

We recently caught up with Amanda to congratulate her new role as AP’s Vice President and Head of News Audience. She reflected on the Maynard Institute’s programs that impacted her.

“I first encountered the Maynard Institute when I attended the Media Academy in 2009. Little did I know the profound effect Dori, Evelyn, Martin, and the program would have on my life. I learned so much about being a manager: how to have difficult conversations, how to solve complex business challenges. And I built friendships that I still depend on.” Amanda Barrett, VP and Head of News Audience, The Associated Press

In addition to the Maynard Academy, Amanda participated in the Maynard 200 Fellowship, one of the Institutes core programs that provides advanced training for mid-career journalists of color interested in leadership roles.

“Over the years, the Maynard mentorship never ended. Eventually, Evelyn asked me if I would be interested in a program that would help propel my career to another level and that turned out to be the Maynard 200. Executive coaches Virgil Smith and Caroline Ceniza-Levine were phenomenal, in addition to my mentor Susan Leath. I am so blessed to be a part of the Maynard family.” Amanda Barrett, VP and Head of News Audience, The Associated Press

Contributions as a longtime newsroom manager

Excerpt from feature originally published by AP:

“Barrett joined AP in New York in 2007 as a content coordinator, working with journalists across the company on interactive projects. She became deputy East editor in 2009, helping to establish a new regional desk in Philadelphia and lead AP’s coverage of 10 northeastern U.S. states.

Two years later, she returned to New York as city news editor, directing AP’s award-winning coverage of Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath. In 2015, she moved to the Nerve Center as planning and administration manager and assumed leadership in 2017.

Barrett has played a critical role in coordinating news coverage of many of the biggest stories of recent years, including hurricanes Harvey and Maria, the #MeToo movement and the 2018 Winter Olympics. Barrett also serves as a leader of AP’s race and ethnicity reporting team.

Before joining AP, Barrett worked at Newsday, where she led a team of interactive journalists and managed the NYNewsday.com and amNY.com websites. She previously worked as a sports editor at the Orlando Sentinel and at the Roanoke Times in her hometown of Roanoke, Va.”

As the mystery of Gabby Petito’s whereabouts unfolded in 2021, news media clamored to cover the story. Partially chasing the clicks of the social media users who went viral trying to determine her whereabouts when Petito was announced missing, national and local news prioritized the story and especially when tragically, her remains were discovered. The Maynard Institute was contacted by the media outlets listed below to comment on the outsized coverage the case received.
Gwen Ifill is often credited for coining the term “Missing White Woman Syndrome” during her remarks at the Unity: Journalists of Color journalism conference in 2004. Sociologist Sheri Parks, another African American woman, also spoke about the media practice on CNN in 2006.

The term missing white woman syndrome refers to “the observed disproportionate media coverage, especially in television, of missing-person cases involving young, white, upper-middle-class women or girls compared to the relative lack of attention towards missing women who are not white, women of lower social classes, and missing men or boys.”
Pushing the industry to do better

The Maynard Institute was founded more than four decades ago to address these disparities in media coverage. In 2005, shortly after the term “missing white women syndrome” was coined, Dori Maynard, President of the Maynard Institute at that time, was interviewed for NBC News on the subject.

In 2021, the Maynard Institute was again contacted to weigh in how the news media perpetuates an imbalance of coverage related to missing persons cases. Co-executive director Martin Reynolds was tapped to contribute to discussions about the media’s approach to the Gabby Petito news story, as listed below.
In one of the panel interviews, Martin was joined by Dr. Ava Thompson Greenwell, Documentary Filmmaker & Research of the Black Women Television News Managers, who detailed exactly why the mission of the Maynard Institute to diversify newsrooms is so relevant. Dr. Greenwell said “I did a study of forty Black women news managers in television. They intervene on that pattern and really try to make sure that Black women are given the same dignity as other women.”
New York Times articles

How the Case of Gabrielle Petito Galvanized the Internet
News Media Can’t Shake ‘Missing White Woman Syndrome,’ Critics Say

“What I’m most concerned about is the amount of coverage, and if you look at newsrooms, the coverage decisions are made in places that continue to be disproportionately white,” said Mr. Reynolds, whose organization works with journalists of color.
AFP Yahoo News article

Gabby Petito’s disappearance captivated the world. Why?

“The people who are in the roles of making decisions about what could be news lack diversity,” added Martin Reynolds of the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, in addressing the disparity.
CBS New York segment

National Media Coverage Of Gabby Petito’s Disappearance Raises Questions About Attention For Missing People Of Color

“This isn’t to say that these journalists are bad folks or that this isn’t a worthy story … What I think is really essential is the understanding of the choices that we make as journalists are an articulation of value.” Reynolds said.
The Special Report with Areva Martin talk show

The Special Report with Areva Martin: Missing White Women Syndrome

Additional Panelists included:
Dr. Michelle N Jeanis, Professor of University of Louisiana & Missing Persons Crime & Media Researcher
Dr. Ava Thompson Greenwell, Documentary Filmmaker & Research of the Black Women Television News Managers
The Mercury News

Where’s Frank Somerville? Silence irks activists, stirs questions about suspension

Excerpt:
Community groups have yet to hear from KTVU about Somerville’s complaint: improving coverage of stories about missing and murdered women of color.
The public silence from Channel 2 and Fox, its parent network, has fueled community frustration over the ostensible reason he was suspended — a reported dispute over his push to add a brief commentary on racial inequity to the end of a straight-news story about the disappearance of social media influencer Gabby Petito, whose case had attracted a firestorm of media coverage.
Martin Reynolds, co-executive director for the Oakland-based Maynard Institute, which promotes diversity in America’s newsrooms, said Somerville’s reported solution, to tack a commentary on at the end of a straight news story, would have been “lazy,” as opposed to assigning a full story on the topic. Reynolds, a former editor at the Oakland Tribune and Bay Area News Group, said it would have resulted in the “very disparity (in coverage) he was seeking to address.”
But Reynolds also faulted KTVU for fueling the controversy by not meeting with activists to discuss their complaints about coverage, saying that journalism organizations must offer “a level of transparency and accountability.”
For additional media inquiries, please reach out to us at info@mije.org.

Chapter 510 & the Dept. of Make Believe is a youth writing center in Oakland, California, with a mission to help every young person in Oakland write with confidence and joy. Rooted in this mission, Chapter 510 believes that when kids and teens can confidently write, they transform themselves and their communities for the better. We can’t think of a better role for Oakland Voices correspondent Marabet Morales Sikahall than Chapter 510’s new Program & Community Manager.

With programs led by teaching artists within a supportive community of diverse volunteers and artists, Chapter 510 strives to increase the number of books written by QTBIPOC youth in the canon of literature and serve the evolution of all Oakland young writers so they can become stronger learners, meaning makers, and agents of change.

Similar to the literary project in San Francisco, 826 Valencia, also known as the Pirate Supply Store, Chapter 510 is located in Oakland with a retail store in the form of an interactive magical bureaucracy called the Dept. of Make Believe that provides youth with “Licenses to Dream” and more.

Reflections on the Maynard Institute program Oakland Voices

Oakland Voices is a nine-month program led by the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education that trains Oakland residents to tell the stories of their neighborhoods. The program emerged from a partnership with the Oakland Tribune and it connects Oakland Voices correspondents with more than a dozen media professionals. Participants work individually and in teams, creating content for OaklandVoices.us, which can also be published elsewhere. The collaborative, applied learning approach means correspondents quickly become aware of their power and responsibility as storytellers, and as members of the media.

We asked Marabet how Oakland Voices impacted her journey. “As a young writer I was hesitant about writing journalistic pieces because of a previous traumatic experience,” Marabet said, referring to a high school teacher who discouraged her from writing. “It was through the Maynard Institute’s support for Oakland Voices that I was able to become more confident in my community storytelling.”

“Oakland Voices has helped me become a stronger voice and provided the needed representation of the stories that I grew up with in East Oakland and the new ones, too. If anything, thanks to the Maynard Institute I can say that my community has grown even bigger by getting to know others who, like myself, want to uplift our beloved town.” Marabet Morales Sikahall, 2016 Oakland Voices alum and Chapter 510 Program & Community Manager

Writing for the diaspora

Marabet Morales Sikahall is a Guatemalan American writer from Oakland, California. She is an alumna from both Creative Writing programs at San Francisco State University and Berkeley City College, including the Literary Arts program at Oakland School for the Arts. Some of her writing has been featured in The Acentos Review, Acción Latina’s Tribute Chapook for Salvadoran writer, Roque Dalton, Harvard College’s Palabritas, and Oakland Voices. Additionally, her radio story in collaboration with local radio station, KALW and Oakland Voices aired on July 2019 for #MinorityMentalHealthAwarenessMonth. She is also the editor and founder of the literary journal, “Diaspora Baby Blues.”

You can check out Marabet’s Oakland Voices stories on the Oakland Voices website including her love letter to Oakland libraries.

Longtime journalist Kevin Merida, who has served on the board of the Maynard Institute since 2014 and participated in the Maynard Institute Summer Program for Minority Journalists in 1979, was named the executive editor of the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest major metro newspapers in the country.

Merida has served as the editor in chief of ESPN’s The Undefeated since 2015, where he led a division producing content at the intersection of sports, race and culture.

Merida has had the unique opportunity to work in print, broadcast and digital ventures throughout his lengthy career, which was launched by the Maynard Institute’s SPMJ 1979 program, hosted at UC Berkeley. He went on to his first full time reporting job at the Milwaukee Journal and later spent over two decades at the Washington Post, where he rose to managing editor.

Several other alumni of the Maynard Institute’s programs have worked at the LA Times and been instrumental in producing inclusive community reporting, such as Maynard Institute co-founder Frank Sotomayor, who helped lead the LA Times Pulitzer prize-winning series on the Latino community in Los Angeles. That project included the work of Merida’s SPMJ ‘79 classmates, Virginia Escalante and Louis Sahagun.

The current owners of the LA Times, Dr. Patrick and Michele Soon-Shiong, indicated earlier this year that stronger coverage of “Black, Latino, Asian and underrepresented communities” is a priority for the publication.

Merida plans to relocate to Los Angeles with his wife and youngest son. The Maynard Institute sends it’s most heartfelt congratulations to Kevin and family!

44 Media Professionals to Receive Career Advancement Training and Mentorship by Top Experts to Foster Equity and Belonging in Newsrooms and Beyond

EMERYVILLE, CALIFORNIA (April 8, 2021) —The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education [MIJE], a national nonprofit dedicated to making newsrooms look like America and to bring about equity and belonging in media, today welcomes the 44 fellows selected for Maynard 200, the third cohort of its flagship fellowship.

The diverse group of media professionals was selected from a competitive pool of more than 140 applicants. The fellows represent a mix of mainstream, ethnic, local community and niche media, and their entrepreneurial ventures. The Maynard 200 fellowship will provide cutting-edge training and year-long mentorship from top experts.

The goal is to embolden the next generation of storytellers, leaders and media entrepreneurs to transform the nation’s media ecosystem and preserve our democracy by ensuring that the media accurately represents the lives and perspectives of all Americans.

The 2021 class reflects a profound pivot from diversity to belonging. These professionals will provide the energy helping to power the culture shift in America’s newsrooms. Calls by journalists of color for equity and dismantling systemic racism in the news media are profound and will be answered through the work of these fellows.

“We are energized by our fellows’ nuanced coverage, wide spectrum of diverse perspectives, empathetic leadership and innovative entrepreneurial ventures,” said Odette Alcazaren-Keeley, director of Maynard 200. “They will find allyship in and bolster the program’s mission of reinvigorating the media’s diversity pipeline now sharpened by the crises of our time amid our global pandemic recovery and racial justice reckoning.

“Despite our digital pivot for the first training week because of public health protocols for COVID-19, we are committed to deliver the same excellent program this year, aiming to amplify the collective impact of our cohort.”

This year’s Maynard 200 Fellowship will begin with a virtual training week,
April 12-16. The second training round is scheduled in person this November if protocols allow.

Maynard 200’s three-track curriculum delivers a mix of content, expertise and perspectives and includes:

Executive Leadership

• Effective leadership and financial strategies
• Human capital management

Media Entrepreneurship

• Core values of a startup launch
• Developing a sound business model and picking the right team

Storytelling

• The art of the story
• Core tenets and cutting-edge techniques of investigative journalism

“We are fortunate to have accomplished leaders in charge of each of our training tracks — award-winning investigative reporter and author Aaron Glantz in Storytelling, media strategist Dickson Louie in Media Entrepreneurship and former newsroom C-suite executive Virgil Smith in Executive Leadership,” said Evelyn Hsu, co-executive director of the Maynard Institute and the architect of Maynard 200. “They are joined by accomplished and devoted professionals who teach and mentor our participants. Our faculty are key to building the next generation of journalists of color.”

“Given the demographics of the nation and the shift to have people pay for the news they use, the need to have media professionals that represent the wide diaspora of lives and cultures isn’t just the right thing to do,” said Martin G. Reynolds, the institute’s co-executive director. “It is imperative if journalism is to be seen as accurate, authentic, trustworthy and credible. It’s not hyperbole to say that the soul of journalism is at stake in this moment and in this time.”

When this third cohort graduates, 93 media professionals will have participated in the Maynard 200 fellowship since its inception in 2018. The program aims to reinvigorate the diversity pipeline in American media by training 200 diverse professionals in its first five years.

The program is tuition-free thanks to funding by Google News Initiative, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, The Hearthland Foundation and the McClatchy Foundation.

The 2021 Maynard 200 Fellows

Participating in the Maynard 200 Fellowship – Storytelling track [L-R]:
Jasmine Vaughn-Hall, Rommel Conclara, Estephany Haro, Eleanore Catolico, Ruslan Gurzhiy, Thalia Juarez, Herb Pinder, Sameea A. Kamal, Mark Walker, Cortlynn Stark, Sarah Mizes-Tan, Angela Chen, Marina Affo, Stephanie Casanova, Dalia Hatuqa

STORYTELLING TRACK

Marina Affo, reporter, investigations team, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Stephanie Casanova, reporter and digital producer, Arizona Daily Star
Eleanore Catolico, freelance community journalist/contributor, BridgeDetroit
Angela Chen, morning anchor, KESQ TV- ABC/CBS
Rommel Conclara, Bay Area correspondent, ABS-CBN International-The Filipino Channel
Ruslan Gurzhiy, editor, Slavic Sacramento
Estephany Haro, executive producer, KDTV- Univision 14 Bay Area
Dalia Hatuqa, independent journalist/regular contributor, Foreign Policy
Thalía Juárez, photo editor, The Wall Street Journal / freelance multimedia journalist
Sameea A. Kamal, news desk editor, Los Angeles Times
Sarah Mizes-Tan, race and equity reporter, CapRadio
Herb Pinder, accountability coach, Asbury Park Press / USA Today Network
Cortlynn Stark, breaking news reporter, The Kansas City Star
Jasmine Vaughn-Hall, diversity & inclusion reporter, York Daily Record/USA Today Network
Mark Walker, FOIA coordinator and reporter, The New York Times

Participating in the Maynard 200 Fellowship – Media Entrepreneurship track [L-R]:
Kevon Paynter, Annie Guo VanDan, Pete Camarillo, Clarisa Strohmeyer, Delonte Harrod, Anuz Thapa, Hannah Kim, datejie cheko green, Marvin Ramírez, Michelle García, Jenee Darden, Felicia Purcell, Travers Johnson, Meena Thiruvengadam

MEDIA ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRACK

Pete D. Camarillo, founder, PST Media
Jeneé Darden, reporter and podcast host, KALW
Michelle García, journalist/curator, Rewriting the West project
datejie cheko green, founder and director, Solidarity Conscious Works
Delonte Harrod, founder, editor, reporter, The Intersection Magazine
Travers Johnson, founder and editor in chief, Queerency
Hannah Y. Kim, principal, Butterfly Strategies, LLC
Kevon Paynter, CEO and founder, Bloc By Block News
Felicia Purcell, freelance writer, various Bay Area publications / content manager, Sports in the Bay
Marvin Ramírez, editor and publisher, El Reportero
Clarisa Strohmeyer, managing director, ganjly.com
Anuz Thapa, journalist and video producer, thestreet.com
Meena Thiruvengadam, contributor, Travel + Leisure/journalist and audience development consultant
Annie Guo VanDan, president, Asian Avenue Magazine

Participating in the Maynard 200 Fellowship – Executive Leadership track [L-R]:
Rajeswari Ramanathan, Michelle Faust Raghavan, Ross Terrell, Stephen Angeles, Gary Estwick, Samantha Guzman, Benét J. Wilson, Khalilah L. Liptrot, Lottie Joiner, Ashton R. Lattimore, Tripp J Crouse, Charmayne Brown, Tasha Stewart, Marian Liu, Anica Butler

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TRACK

Stephen Angeles, supervising producer and news producer, ABS-CBN Global
Charmayne Brown, morning news anchor, WFXR News
Anica Butler, deputy managing editor, local news, The Boston Globe
Tripp J Crouse, news director, KNBA
Gary Estwick, news director, The Leaf-Chronicle (Gannett Newspapers)
Samantha Guzman, executive editor, Decibel – Austin PBS
Lottie Joiner, senior writer/editor, TheCrisisMagazine.com/NAACP
Ashton R. Lattimore, editor-in-chief, Prism
Khalilah L. Liptrot, senior editor, CBSN
Marian Liu, operations editor, The Washington Post
Michelle Faust Raghavan, equity initiative manager, Solutions Journalism Network
Rajeswari Ramanathan, senior video producer, AJ+/Al Jazeera Int’l
Tasha Stewart, senior manager of engagement, WCPO
Ross Terrell, managing editor, KUER NPR Utah
Benét J. Wilson, senior editor, The Points Guy

For more information about Maynard 200, contact:
Odette Alcazaren-Keeley – Director, Maynard 200-MIJE
okeeley@mije.org
I 650-455-3063

Visit: mije.org

###

ABOUT THE MAYNARD INSTITUTE FOR JOURNALISM EDUCATION

The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education is the nation’s oldest organization dedicated to helping the news media accurately portray all segments of society, particularly those often overlooked, such as communities of color. The media play a pivotal role in shaping our perceptions of each other. The distorted coverage of communities of color influences public policy and the decisions we make in our personal lives.

The Online News Association, the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and OpenNews are committed to dismantling systemic racism in the journalism industry and transforming news organizations into institutions of belonging.

The past few months, we have worked behind the scenes scheming (the good kind) and strategizing new efforts through our Vision25 collaboration. We’ve convened newsroom leaders, spoken to funders and even brought together many of the people who were newly minted in their news organizations to address diversity, equity and belonging.

The conversations have been robust, revealing and troubling. In April, we’ll share some of what we’ve learned, including how the concept of belonging emerged as the aspiration we are pushing to see operationalized across the news industry.

Meanwhile, we’d like to share with you five opportunities to participate in Vision25 this month—through a fellowship, an event, a coalition, and resources to ensure information equity. And there is more to come.

5 ways to participate now

Maynard 200 Fellowship Program: Apply by March 5

The Maynard 200 Fellowship is the Maynard Institute’s signature professional development program for media professionals of color. The fellowship provides cutting-edge training and year-long mentorship for leaders, storytellers and media entrepreneurs of diverse backgrounds guided by the expertise of a distinguished faculty across relevant disciplines. The program supports and emboldens the next generation of leaders, creators and founders of new media ventures. Diverse media executives advance belonging in their newsrooms, thereby advancing the goals of Vision25.

Apply to the Maynard 200 Fellowship by March 5
Maynard 200 Application Form

Maynard Institute’s Belonging in News series

The third episode of Belonging in the News is coming up on Wednesday, March 10 at 3 p.m. EST / 12 p.m. PST. Martin G. Reynolds, event moderator and co-executive director of the Maynard Institute, will discuss institutions of belonging with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and correspondent for CBS News, Wesley Lowery. In addition to discussing his experience investigating police shootings for The Washington Post’s “Fatal Force” project, we will discuss his own journey to find belonging as a journalist.

Register to join the conversation

OpenNews is launching the DEI Coalition For Anti-Racist, Equitable, And Just Newsrooms

Over 100 community volunteers have worked to create a digital community space dedicated to learning and taking concrete actions to create newsrooms and workplaces that are anti-racist, equitable and just. The space will serve as a place to work in solidarity across all levels of experience, on challenges members face in moving DEI forward in their newsrooms, and collectively creating strategies and resources to tackle those challenges. The development of this space has embodied the values of belonging that Vision25 is all about: OpenNews has intentionally designed the space with community leaders and members as a collaborative process. You can sign up to receive a notification when the community space, hosted on Slack, opens later this March.

Get notified when the DEI coalition community space opens soon

The Online News Association’s resource database for information access equity

The #ONAinfoequity database provides resources for journalists to engage communities that are historically under- or misrepresented in the media and ensure equitable access to information. Free Press’ Vanessa Maria Graber and ONA Board member Anita Li led over a dozen journalists to collaborate on this project through an ONA Community Circle. It’s a one-stop shop with guidance for identifying gaps in information access, making the case for community engagement to newsroom leadership and discovering ways to improve existing efforts.

Explore and share the #ONAinfoequity database

Support Vision25

Vision25 is a commitment by our three organizations to advance racial equity in journalism. But, to make this a reality, we need to do this together as an industry. If you’re interested in exploring funding or supporting this work, please email Irving Washington at irving@journalists.org to set up a conversation about our plans and how you can help.