CJS2030: The Democracy Initiative

Columbia Journalism School is addressing the crucial role of journalism in this historic moment in several ways. We are redoubling our long-standing efforts to help American (and indeed global) democracy move forward at a precarious time. This happens on many fronts, and what follows here is a mere sample of that vibrant school-wide endeavor.

The offerings – whether in the classroom, in newsrooms or in the city of New York – are numerous, all demonstrating a deep commitment to the role of journalism in sustaining democracy around the world. 

The Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights provides grants to working journalists, many of which focus on criminal justice and how democratic institutions may be failing the people they are meant to serve. 

Among many projects, The Li Center for Global Journalism is leading an exploration of the troubling dynamics between foreign and local journalists in producing global reporting – particularly the inequities faced by so-called “fixers.” Toward that end, the center has conducted dozens of interviews with local journalists in places such as Somalia, Gaza, Russia, Ukraine, Sudan and Iran.

Columbia Global Reports, headed by former CJS dean Nicholas Lemann, publishes books based on deep reporting across the globe, many of which illuminate democratic principles and the forces that would destabilize them.

These include: "Left Adrift: What Happened to Liberal Politics" and "The Lie Detectives: In Search of a Playbook for Winning Elections in a Disinformation Age."

Columbia Journalism Investigations, the school’s postgraduate reporting program, employs recent graduates, pairing them with experienced journalists to produce high-impact investigative stories in partnership with leading local and national news organizations.

Meet the Columbia Global Reports team. 

Columbia Journalism Review, the nation’s premier press journal, publishes criticism, reporting, and commentary about the media and its role in democracy. It aptly calls itself “the voice of journalism,” serving to question the news media’s practices and to maintain its standards. Underlying its work is the concept that if we journalists are to hold other institutions and individuals accountable, we must do the same in our own craft.

In addition, the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security has launched a project to reexamine the practices and standards of newsrooms, particularly in this new era so affected by artificial intelligence, and is revamping the school’s ethics curriculum, a requirement for all masters students.

Learn about Newmark Center Executive Director Margaret Sullivan's keynote conversation on the media and the 2024 Presidential Election at the 2025 Georgia Bar Media Judiciary Conference.

“In order to be a safeguard of democracy, journalism itself must be democratic,” Dean Cobb has written. This means that journalism education must be accessible, and the school is working hard to make that happen. 

Such efforts include a Loan Repayment Assistance Program that is pegged to non-profit news organizations. Recent graduates who work in the non-profit news sector will be eligible to have 20 percent of the loan debt repaid per year up to $50,000. In addition, each year a dozen or more summer fellowships allow CJS graduates to work on accountability projects while embedded in local and investigative newsrooms in the United States.