Faculty in Focus: Strengthening Local and Nonprofit Journalism
J-School faculty apply deep reporting and data-driven techniques to enhance transparency in local news.
The Future of Civic Journalism
Juan Manuel Benítez, Philip S. Balboni Professor of Professional Practice of Local Journalism, has joined a group of veteran reporters to launch The New York Editorial Board, a Substack initiative that aims to fill the gap left by the decline of traditional newspaper editorial boards.
Members include Semafor's Ben Smith, The City's Alyssa Katz and Harry Siegel, New York Focus' Akash Mehta, Vital City's Josh Greenman, The Manhattan Institute's Nicole Gelinas, Fordham University's Christina Greer, Bloomberg's Myles Miller and New York Law School's Ben Max.
The group is not endorsing candidates. Instead, they will share full transcripts of interviews with candidates for high office and other civic leaders, with the goal of fostering rigorous vetting and informed civic discourse.
As New York City prepares for its next mayoral election, Columbia Journalism School will bring together candidates for a Mayoral Forum on April 14 at noon.
The forum will feature candidates Zohran Mamdani, Zellnor Myrie, Jessica Ramos, Scott Stringer and more, offering them a platform to discuss pressing issues, from housing and public safety to economic development and press freedom.
Moderated by Juan Manuel Benítez, Philip S. Balboni Professor of Professional Practice of Local Journalism, the discussion will focus on the challenges and opportunities facing New York City in the coming years.
Graduate students taking City Newsroom, a course he co-teaches with Joan Konner Visiting Professor of Journalism Ty Lawson, will be asking questions to the candidates.
Learn more here.
Ty Lawson, Joan Konner Visiting Professor of Journalism, with Professor Benítez, revitalized City Newsroom, a course that gives students hands-on experience in metro reporting. The class emphasizes creating impactful local journalism, teaching students to cover the complexities of urban life.
Follow their work.
Columbia Journalism Investigations, in collaboration with New York Focus, uncovers the conviction integrity units designed to correct wrongful convictions in “Innocence Ignored.”
The four-part series examines a broken criminal justice system — and reveals how, when prosecutors are at fault, these units often fail to take action.
Read the investigation.
Local News With an Investigative Lens
Charles Ornstein, Adjunct Associate Professor, teaches investigative reporting with a focus on local news. As head of ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network, he works to fill the gap left by shrinking newspapers. In the classroom, he trains students to uncover local issues and hold power to account through accountability reporting.
Documenting the Human Impact of Political Change
Nina Alvarez, CBS Assistant Professor of International Journalism, teaches community-based reporting with a focus on public-interest storytelling. With support from PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, her documentary “Almost American,” follows the Ayala Flores family over five years as they navigate the revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Salvadorans.
Learn more about her work here.
Investigating Power: Journalism in Action
Adjunct Assistant Professor Justin Elliot, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter at the nonprofit news org ProPublica, brings firsthand experience uncovering power and politics to his classroom. His recent reporting includes exclusive insights into DOGE’s plan to review “another treasury system,” an exposé on “Elon Musk’s demolition crew,” and a look into the former Supreme Court clerks now working for DOGE.