Welcoming Aida Alami, '09 M.S., as Incoming James Madison Visiting Professor on First Amendment Issues

Alami, a graduate of the M.S. program, will guide students as they tackle issues in the context of global free expression. 

As the James Madison Visiting Professor, her focus will span from freedom of information and open data to digital surveillance and security in the digital era. Alami will teach Reporting and a course called “Crafting Compelling Narratives: The New New Yorkers” in the fall semester. 

“I feel incredibly privileged to start this new adventure,” said Alami. “I was lucky to benefit myself from the environment of excellence at Columbia University's School of Journalism. I am humbled by the prospect of mentoring and guiding a new generation of brilliant journalists.”

Alami is a Moroccan reporter based in Rabat, Morocco; Paris, France; and now New York City. Covering migration, human rights, religion and race, she has reported from North Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the United States, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Senegal.

"Aida is a rare reporter who consistently manages to tell ambitious, consequential stories from parts of the world that are difficult to access and often misunderstood,” said Azmat Khan, the Patti Cadby Birch Assistant Professor of Journalism and Director of the Simon and June Li Center for Global Journalism.

Alami has been a regular contributor to the New York Times since 2011 and a writer for other publications such as the New York Review of Books. She also contributed to the best-selling book, “Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World.” 

“Teaching means a lot more to me than just a job,” she continued.” My passion for the craft is fueled by my commitment to cultivating talent and transmitting the ethics and professionalism that characterize the Journalism School.”