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.
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.