Faculty in Focus: Overseas and On Assignment
J-School faculty are traveling the globe, earning honors and engaging international communities.
CJS Alumni & Faculty Win Telly Award for Labor Project
“Gig Workers Rising,” a compelling video series produced by seven Columbia Journalism School alumni and faculty members, recently earned a Telly Award in recognition of its outstanding storytelling and impact.
The series covers the lives, struggles and resilience of gig economy workers — drivers, delivery personnel and freelancers — who navigate precarious working conditions in today’s evolving labor landscape.
“When we met over dinner the first day, we all discussed our past and it turned out everyone was from CJS,” said Diana Baptista, ‘19 M.S. Data Journalism, one of the series’ reporters. “We had so many experiences in common. It built such a strong relationship for us from the beginning, and we’ve had a strong relationship ever since.”
Meet the Team:
- Dean of Academic Affairs Duy Linh Tu, ‘99 M.S. – Director/Producer
- Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Sebastian Tuinder, ‘21 M.S. – Director/Producer
- Anup Kaphle, ‘08 M.S. – Executive Producer
- Jacob Templin, ‘09 M.S. – Executive Producer
- Adjunct Assistant Professor of Journalism Juanita Ceballos, ‘13 M.S. – Producer
- Diana Baptista, ‘19 M.S. Data Journalism – Reporter
- Debadrita Sur, ‘23 M.S. – Production Assistant
Expanding Global Networks in India
This Spring, Associate Dean of Career Development Anusha Shrivastava, Ph.D., '02 M.S., visited four cities in India, meeting with editors at top newsrooms including NDTV, The Caravan and Bloomberg.
She presented on financial reporting and digital presence to over 100 prospective students at Mahindra University, and met with admitted students in New Delhi and Mumbai. She also held academic meetings at Mahindra and SRM University to strengthen partnerships and explore future collaboration.
Covering the War in Ukraine
Keith Gessen, Director of the George T. Delacorte Center for Magazine Journalism and Assistant Professor of Magazine Journalism, draws on research from various regions of Russia to reveal that while some people express support for the war in Ukraine, much of it is driven by fear, propaganda and a sense of powerlessness rather than genuine conviction. Read his latest work in The New Yorker.
Meet and Greet With Prospective Students in Italy
Juan Manuel Benítez, Philip S. Balboni Professor of Professional Practice of Local Journalism, and Alexander Stille, '83 M.S., Sao Paolo Professor of International Journalism, recently spoke with a group of accepted students in Rome.
Alumni Meetup with Dean Cobb in Spain
The BCNY Master's in Journalism — a collaboration between CJS and Universitat de Barcelona — is celebrating 25 years of training over 600 students in everything from local news to science journalism and multimedia.
On April 8, Dean Jelani Cobb and BCNY Director Frederic Vincent, joined program alumni and additional university leaders to reconnect and celebrate this program's transformative impact across more than 40 countries.
"As we navigate a difficult moment in a complicated world,’ said Cobb during the anniversary celebration. “It is important to have a sense that we are working together as a team."
Dean Jelani Cobb Delivers Reuters Memorial Lecture
Dean Jelani Cobb was invited by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism to address the critical challenges facing the industry, delivering a speech at Oxford University on the pressing issues confronting journalists today. In his lecture, “Trust issues: Credibility, credulity, and journalism in a time of crisis,” he warned against capitulation.
“Capitulation never resulted in salvation,” he said to the crowd of journalists. “We thereby confront an old paradox of those who sought to save the house from a fire but unwittingly left it to perish in the flood.”
From Data to Documentary: Columbia-UDP Winter School Kicks Off
The Columbia Global Center Santiago, Diego Portales University School of Journalism, and Columbia Journalism School are launching the first Columbia-UDP Winter School, focusing on innovation, data and visual storytelling.
June 16–19, 2025: Mark Hansen, director of the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, will lead sessions on data journalism and new storytelling methods using statistical analysis and emerging technologies.
June 23–27, 2025: Dean Duy Linh Tu will teach narrative techniques for creating impactful documentaries and visual reports, drawing on his expertise in social justice and climate change journalism.