From April 12 – 13, 2024, the International Symposium on Online Journalism will take place in person at the University of Texas at Austin campus and online, with innovative tools to facilitate the participation of virtual attendees. Editors, producers, executives, and academics from around the world will present during our keynote sessions, panels and social networking events. Join us as we celebrate 25 years of discussions on the evolution of online journalism.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
President & CEO, The New York Times Company
Meredith Kopit Levien is president and chief executive officer of The New York Times Company. She leads the Company’s global operations and directs its business strategy. Before becoming CEO in September 2020, she served as chief operating officer, overseeing all major commercial operations, including subscriptions, advertising, events, and the cross-functional digital product development organization… Read more
Editor in Chief, Teen Vogue
Versha Sharma is the editor in chief of Teen Vogue, where she is focused on covering social justice, culture, fashion and politics through the lens of young people. Previously, she was managing editor and senior correspondent at NowThis, where she led audience growth across platforms, working at the social video-first company since 2014… Read more
Co-founder, CEO & Publisher, Meduza (Independent Russian media outlet operating from Latvia)
Galina Timchenko is the co-founder, CEO, and publisher of Meduza — the largest remaining independent Russian news outlet published in both Russian and English. Meduza continues to reach millions of people inside Russia despite the project’s newsroom having to operate from exile for the last nine years… Read more
Founding Editor and Publisher, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism
Wendi C. Thomas is the founding editor and publisher of MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, an award-winning nonprofit newsroom focused on poverty, power, and policy. Launched in 2017 with freelancers and $3,000, MLK50 has grown to a 12-person organization that has made a measurable, tangible impact in the lives of working class Memphians… Read more
SPEAKERS
Chief Product Officer & Co-founder, News Product Alliance
Becca Aaronson is chief product officer and co-founder of the News Product Alliance, a global community of support and practice for news product thinkers, and served as their founding executive director. She previously worked as the director of product at Chalkbeat, a non-profit, digital-first network of local newsrooms, overseeing digital product development and visual storytelling… Read more
Journalist, FactsMatterNG (Nigeria)
Hannah Ajakaiye leads FactsMatterNG, an initiative of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) that promotes information integrity by making facts go viral. The project uses humor, eye-catching videos and graphics to share the truth in a way that is as compelling as the fake news that can spread like wildfire on social media. Hannah is an award-winning journalist and data enthusiast with a passion for development and social justice issues… Read more
Head of National News, le Nouvelliste (Haiti)
Roberson Alphonse is head of national news at le Nouvelliste, Haiti’s oldest and largest daily newspaper, where he has covered topics including the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, the mismanagement of international aid, gang violence, and the introduction of cholera to Haiti by U.N. Nepalese peacekeepers. Roberson is also the director of information at Radio Magik9, where he hosts a popular daily program… Read more
ISOJ Founder and Chair, Professor at the School of Journalism, UT Austin
Rosental Alves began his academic career in the United States in March 1996, after 27 years as a professional journalist, including seven years as a journalism professor in Brazil. He moved to Austin from Rio de Janeiro, where he was the managing editor and member of the board of directors of Jornal do Brasil, one of the most important Brazilian newspapers… Read more
Director, Press Forward
Dale R. Anglin serves as the inaugural director of Press Forward, the growing coalition of local and national funders committed to investing more than $500 million to strengthen communities, democracy, and local news. Dale has deep experience in leading funder collaboratives, centering equity, and growing supporting local news initiatives… Read more
Audience Strategist, Impact and Newsroom Experimentation, NowThis (Uruguay)
Sebastián Auyanet is an Audience Strategist, Impact and Newsroom Experimentation at NowThis. He also works as a consultant focused on business models and audience development, having collaborated with organizations such as ICFJ, IWPR and SembraMedia, and in programs such as MDIF’s Membership Puzzle Project, GNI Startup Labs or Luminate’s Velocidad… Read more
Founding Editor in Chief, The Fourth Estate (Ghana)
Manasseh Azure Awuni is the founding editor in chief of The Fourth Estate, a nonprofit, public interest and investigative journalism project of the Media Foundation for West Africa in Ghana. He previously worked as a senior broadcast journalist for Ghana’s Multimedia Group, where he founded and led the organization’s investigative journalism desk… Read more
Journalist and Co-Creator, La Pulla (Colombia)
María Paulina Baena is a Colombian journalist and political scientist. She was co-creator and presenter of La Pulla, an opinion program of the newspaper El Espectador that today has 1.35 million subscribers on YouTube. She was the winner of the Simón Bolívar Prize for Journalism and listed as one of the five best young journalists in the world by One Young World… Read more
Chief Strategy Officer, Wichita Foundation
With over a decade in philanthropy, Courtney Bengtson excels in funder, community, and media relations, grantmaking, and market research. As chief strategy officer at Wichita Foundation since October 2021, she guides the organization’s vision, manages a $1M+ grant portfolio, and oversees a $5M impact investment fund… Read more
Vice President of Journalism, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Jim Brady is the Vice President of Journalism for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Brady, who joined Knight in August 2021, is a longtime digital media innovator whose experience ranges from leading major brands such as washingtonpost.com and Digital First Media to bootstrapping a company that built and sold local news sites in three cities… Read more
Senior Advisor (Consultant), American Journalism Project
Trei Brundrett serves as senior advisor to AJP; there, he is a consultant leading the Product & AI Studio and working closely with the Startup Studio. He is a co-founder and the former chief operating officer for Vox Media. He was instrumental in growing the company from a collection of sports blogs to a portfolio of over 10 trusted publications… Read more
Managing Director, Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology
Janet Coats is the managing director of the Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology at the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications. The Consortium is a multidisciplinary initiative focused on understanding the dynamics that have undermined trust in news and ways that technology can serve as a trust-builder… Read more
Dean, Moody College of Communication, UT Austin
Rachel Davis Mersey is dean of Moody College of Communication, holds an appointment as Everett D. Collier Centennial Chair in the School of Journalism and Media and is a member of the Communication and Leadership faculty. Before joining the UT faculty, she was as a professor and the associate dean for research at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications… Read more
News Partner Manager, Associations and Local Partners, Google
Ashley Edwards is a news partner manager on the Associations and Local Partners team at Google, with an emphasis on misinformation, media literacy and the next generation of journalists. Prior to Google, Ashley worked as a journalist at Refinery29, Mic, and PIX11 News… Read more
Creator and Showrunner, Search Party
Sam Ellis is a journalist, director, editor, and animator based in New York City. He’s currently the creator and showrunner of Search Party, a new independent video journalism project that investigates and decodes the most important and complicated news around geopolitics and global sports… Read more
General Manager of Strategy and Metrics, UOL (Brazil)
Lilian Ferreira is the AI leader at UOL, the largest news portal in Brazil. Responsible for the portal’s digital strategy, she combines data and product to deliver better resources for the newsroom and audience… Read more
Director of Research, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (UK)
Richard Fletcher is director of research at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford. He is an award-winning researcher who studies global trends in news consumption and the relationship between technology and journalism. He is lead researcher and co-author of the Digital News Report… Read more
Director, John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships, Stanford University
Dawn Garcia is the director of the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships. She is a passionate advocate and mentor for diverse and emerging leaders who are working to transform journalism around the world. She ensures the JSK Fellowships is continually evolving to stay relevant to journalism. Dawn’s leadership style is collaborative and compassionate… Read more
Executive Editor, Austin American-Statesman
Manny García is the editor of the Austin American-Statesman. He joined the Statesman in February 2021. He previously served as senior editor for the ProPublica-Texas Tribune Investigative Initiative, a new watchdog team that he helped launch in 2020. Before joining ProPublica, Manny served in top leadership roles at the USA Today Network as Standards Editor and East Region Executive Editor… Read more
Editor In Chief, San Francisco Chronicle
Emilio Garcia-Ruiz is the editor in chief of the San Francisco Chronicle. Prior to that, he served as the managing editor in charge of digital at The Washington Post, overseeing the newsroom’s development, implementation and execution of digital strategy. Emilio was previously the editor for strategic projects, as well as The Post’s Local, Sunday and Sports editors… Read more
Senior Product Management Leader, Digital News Platforms, CNN
Upasna is a senior product management leader on the Platforms team at CNN, where she leads the development of the content management technology that delivers breaking news to the world. Upasna has been working in the tech industry for the last 15 years and has been an integral part of delivering technical, data-informed solutions for brands such as Ford Motor Company, Valvoline, PCMag, Mashable, Mars Corporation, and Kimberly-Clark… Read more
Vice President of News, Google Inc.
Richard Gingras is Vice President, News at Google. In that role, Richard guides Google’s strategies in how it surfaces news on Google search, Google News, and its smart devices. He also oversees Google’s effort to enable a healthy, open ecosystem for quality journalism, which includes Subscribe with Google, Google’s Tools for Journalists, Accelerated Mobile Pages and various other efforts to enable journalists and news providers to be effective and sustainable… Read more
Deputy Project Director, Global Index on Responsible AI and the Global Data Barometer (Argentina)
Nicolás Grossman is a sociologist and data journalist specialising in research and open data. He is the deputy project director of the Global Index on Responsible AI and the Global Data Barometer. Previously, he led the Open Data and Data Journalism strategy of Properati, a private-sector real estate platform that launched a disruptive open data and journalism strategy in Latin America… Read more
Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Northern Illinois University
Andrea L. Guzman is an associate professor of communication at Northern Illinois University and co-director of The Human-Machine Communication Lab. Her research focuses on people’s perceptions of and interactions with AI and, as a former journalist, also studies the integration of AI into media industries… Read more
Senior Fellow for Public Practice, Braver Angels
Mónica Guzmán is a bridge builder, journalist, and author who lives for great conversations sparked by curious questions. She’s senior fellow for public practice at Braver Angels, the nation’s largest cross-partisan grassroots organization working to depolarize America; host of A Braver Way, a podcast that equips people with the tools they need to bridge the political divide in their everyday lives… Read more
Editor at Large, The 19th*
Errin Haines is editor at large and a founding mother of The 19th*, a nonprofit, independent newsroom focused on the intersection of gender, politics and policy. She is also an MSNBC Contributor. Prior to joining The 19th*, Errin was national writer on race and ethnicity for The Associated Press… Read more
Researcher-in-residence, Hacks/Hackers (Canada)
Sil Hamilton is researcher-in-residence at the journalism non-profit Hacks/Hackers. A machine learning researcher at McGill University, Sil has published research exploring the intersection of AI and culture. He has been in Wired, The Financial Times, and Le Devoir; and he has given talks on AI and the newsroom at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard… Read more
Vice President & Executive Editor, The Dallas Morning News
Katrice is vice president and executive editor of The Dallas Morning News. Previously, she was executive editor of The Indianapolis Star and Midwest regional editor for USA Today Network. When Katrice joined the network in 2016, she was the executive editor of The Greenville News and then took on responsibilities as the South regional editor… Read more
Associate Director, Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas
Summer Harlow is the associate director of the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas and a visiting associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. She is on leave from Texas A&M University where she’s an associate professor. She has written two books: Digital Native News and the Remaking of Latin American Mainstream and Alternative Journalism, and Liberation Technology in El Salvador: Re-appropriating Social Media among Alternative Media Projects… Read more
Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Texas State University
Vanessa de Macedo Higgins Joyce is an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University and a senior faculty research associate with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. Her research focuses on the evolution of journalism in an interconnected world, focusing on transnational and Latin American media and the relationship between journalism and democracy… Read more
Investigative journalist and founder, investigace.cz (Czechia)
Pavla Holcová is an investigative journalist and founder of the independent outlet investigace.cz, a member center of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. She is also OCCRP’s editor for Central Europe. Pavla has contributed to major cross-border projects such as the Panama Papers, the Russian and Azerbaijani Laundromats, the Pegasus Project, the Pandora Papers, and the Russian Asset Tracker… Read more
Head of Unit, Media and Information Literacy and Digital Competencies, UNESCO (France)
Adeline Hulin is head of unit for Media and Information Literacy and Digital Competencies at UNESCO Headquarters. She previously worked as the global coordinator for the UNESCO Project Social Media 4 Peace that aims at curbing online harmful content on social media while promoting freedom of expression in conflict prone environment… Read more
Tow Professor of Journalism Innovation, Newmark Graduate School of Journalism
Jeff Jarvis is the Leonard Tow Professor of Journalism Innovation (soon to be emeritus) at CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and an advisor to Montclair State’s Center for Cooperative Media. He is the author of six books and is cohost of the podcasts This Week in Google and AI Inside and blogs at Buzzmachine.com… Read more
Founder & Director, Afghanistan Institute for Research and Media Studies (Afghanistan)
Faisal Karimi is the founder and director of the Afghanistan Institute for Research and Media Studies, which includes Afghanistan Women’s News Agency, a multimedia news platform to cover women’s issues in that country, and Kaashi Media. He is the founder and editor in chief of both of those organizations. In 2021, after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and increasing threats to journalists, Faisal helped employees of his women’s news agency escape to the U.S… Read more
Senior Reporter, Visual Forensics, The Washington Post
Meg Kelly is an award-winning senior reporter with the Visual Forensics team at the Washington Post, which combines traditional reporting with new technologies. Her work aims to hold power to account regardless of geography – from examinations of apparent war crimes by Myanmar’s military to the Jan. 6 insurrection, for which she shared a Pulitzer Prize… Read more
Knight Chair in Journalism Innovation, Missouri School of Journalism
Damon Kiesow is a digital media pioneer who specializes in aligning community information needs and business strategy in support of sustainable local journalism. He teaches a senior capstone in audience research and news product thinking, authored the first textbook in News Product Management and is a co-founder of the News Product Alliance… Read more
Investigative journalist, Channel 12 News (Israel)
Efrat Lachter is an investigative journalist and a war correspondent for Israel’s Channel 12 News. Efrat has directed and produced more than 200 documentary segments on topics including human trafficking in Sudan and Israel, modern-day slavery in Malawi, orphans in Ukraine, internal political corruption in Israel… Read more
Director, Technology, Product and Strategy/Journalism, Knight Foundation
Marc Lavallee joined Knight Foundation in May 2022. He is the director of technology product and strategy for the journalism program. Marc brings more than two decades of experience as a software developer and technology executive in the journalism industry to this role. Prior to joining Knight, Marc worked at The New York Times for over a decade… Read more
Producer, Yle Kioski (Finland)
Salla-Rosa Leinonen is a producer and writer working for the Finnish Public Broadcaster, Yle. She specializes in social media storytelling, reaching young ‘hard-to-reach’ audiences. At the youth media brand Yle Kioski, she leads some of Finland’s most talented young reporters and video journalists… Read more
Chief of Growth Programs, Institute for Nonprofit News (INN)
Courtney Lewis is the chief of growth programs at the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), a thriving network of over 425 nonprofit news organizations committed to public service. In this role, she builds and advances programs dedicated to generating revenue and fostering diverse talent for a rapidly growing nonprofit news field… Read more
Senior Congressional Reporter, Puck
Abby Livingston is the senior Congressional reporter for Puck, a new media company covering money and power in American culture, and she also writes for The Almanac of American Politics, the bible of the political class. Prior to joining Puck, Abby was the first Washington bureau chief for the Texas Tribune… Read more
Assistant Professor, School of Journalism and Media, UT Austin
Josephine (“Jo”) Lukito (she/her) is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin’s School of Journalism and Media. She is also the director of the Media & Democracy Data Cooperative and a senior faculty research affiliate for the Center for Media Engagement. Jo’s work uses computational and machine learning approaches to study political language… Read more
Senior Journalist and Deputy Editor in Chief, Kyiv Bureau, BBC Monitoring (Ukraine)
Yana Lyushnevskaya is a senior journalist and deputy editor in chief in the Kyiv bureau of BBC Monitoring, a division of the BBC that reports on and analyzes global media. She covers media, political and security developments in Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states… Read more
Lead Editor, Bellingcat, and JSK Fellow, Stanford University (Netherlands)
Eoghan Macguire is lead editor of the open source investigative outlet, Bellingcat, and a current John S. Knight fellow at Stanford University. Eoghan leads a team of editors and social media producers at Bellingcat while also working with dozens of investigators to bring stories of significant public interest around the world to light… Read more
Deputy Editor, Toronto Star (Canada)
Nicole MacIntyre is the deputy editor of the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper. She joined the paper in 2021, returning nearly two decades after she was part of the Star’s esteemed one-year internship program that has launched many of the country’s top journalists. Previously, Nicole served as the deputy national editor and Toronto editor at the Globe and Mail… Read more
Associate Director, Center for Media Engagement, UT Austin
Gina M. Masullo is associate director of the Center for Media Engagement and an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Media, both at The University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of “Online Incivility and Public Debate: Nasty Talk” and “The New Town Hall: Why We Engage Personally with Politicians” and co-editor of “Scandal in a Digital Age”… Read more
Professor, School of Journalism and Media, UT Austin
Kathleen McElroy is a professor and Frank A. Bennack, Jr. Chair in Journalism and co-director of the Center for Ethical Leadership in Media at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her Ph.D. from UT-Austin’s School of Journalism and Media after nearly 30 years as a professional journalist. At The New York Times, she held various management positions… Read more
Managing Editor, IDL-Reporteros (Peru)
Romina Mella is a founding member and managing editor at IDL-Reporteros, an independent investigative media outlet based in Lima, Peru. Romina specializes in covering political and corporate corruption, justice, organized crime and drug trafficking. Romina’s work has been recognized with important awards… Read more
Founding Executive Director, Center for News, Technology & Innovation (CNTI)
Amy S. Mitchell is the founding executive director of the Center for News, Technology & Innovation (CNTI). Prior to her role at CNTI, Mitchell served as Managing Director of news and Information Research at the Pew Research Center. In her 25 years with Pew Research, Amy helped launch the journalism research program and served as managing director since 2010… Read more
U.S. Teaching Fellow, Google News Initiative
Mary Nahorniak is Google News Initiative’s U.S. teaching fellow, focused on collaborating with journalists and entrepreneurs to drive innovation in news. She was previously part of USA TODAY’s leadership team as the director of audience, responsible for the organization’s digital platforms and a 24/7 team of nearly 30 editors… Read more
Multimedia Journalist & Research Fellow, UT Austin (Mexico)
Ángel is a multimedia journalist with 17+ years of covering breaking news and stories in Mexico related to organized crime, politics, social justice and human rights. Ángel has worked in CNN, Bloomberg as a copyeditor and producer. Ángel has also worked on radio, TV and websites in Tamaulipas and Mexico City… Read more
Chief Investment Officer, American Journalism Project
As chief investment officer, Michael oversees the programmatic work of the American Journalism Project, including their local philanthropy partnerships, startups and growth investments. Michael previously led the domestic direct-to-consumer businesses at VICE Media and spearheaded efforts to diversify revenue streams and content formats by launching VICE’s first subscription product in the United States and managing its experiential business… Read more
President, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
John Palfrey is the President of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Palfrey is a well-respected educator, author, legal scholar, and innovator with expertise in how new media is changing learning and education. Prior to joining the Foundation, he served as Head of School at Phillips Academy, Andover. Palfrey is the board chair of the United States Impact Investing Alliance and serves on the board of the Fidelity Non-Profit Management Foundation… Read more
Investigations Editor, Europe and Asia, BBC World Service (UK)
Marc Perkins is an award-winning, long-form investigations specialist, who is currently the investigations editor for Europe and Asia for the BBC World Service. Over the last decade, he has launched all of the World Service’s Investigative Documentary Units – Arabic Documentaries, Africa Eye and BBC Eye – as well as managing the BBC’s first OSINT Investigations Team… Read more
Professor, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
Victor Pickard is the C. Edwin Baker Professor of Media Policy and Political Economy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, where he co-directs the Media, Inequality & Change (MIC) Center. Victor’s research focuses on media history, journalism studies, and the normative foundations of media policy… Read more
Editor in Chief, The Daily Texan, UT Austin
Lucero Ponce is a junior at the School of Journalism and Media in the Moody College of Communication. Currently, she serves as the editor in chief of The Daily Texan, UT Austin’s student-run newspaper, and leads the editorial board in holding the University accountable. Prior to becoming editor in chief, Lucero was the director of Texan en Español in 2023… Read more
President & CEO, The 19th*
Emily Ramshaw is the president and CEO of The 19th*, the nation’s first independent nonprofit newsroom at the intersection of gender, politics and policy. The 19th* aims to elevate the voices of women and LGBTQ+ people — particularly those left at the margins of American media — with free-to-consume and free-to-republish daily journalism, newsletters and live events… Read more
Product Strategy Lead, Newspack
Katie Rethman is the product strategy lead at Newspack, an all-in-one platform built by Automattic to simplify digital publishing and drive audience and revenue for independent news organizations. Katie’s career in media began over a decade ago at Campaigns & Elections magazine, evolving into strategic roles at The Atlantic and 10up… Read more
Senior Product Manager AI Strategy, The Associated Press
Aimee Rinehart is the senior product manager AI Strategy for The Associated Press. Before joining AP, she was the deputy director of First Draft’s New York bureau helping journalists and newsrooms to identify, verify and report on mis- and disinformation through the 2018 and 2020 U.S. election cycles… Read more
Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, UW-Madison
A former journalist, Dr. Sue Robinson joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in January 2007 and now holds the Helen Firstbrook Franklin Professor of Journalism endowed research chair. As a scholar and teacher, she explores all things journalism and practices “applied research” within newsrooms and with newsroom trainers… Read more
Data Project Lead, The Marshall Project
Andrew Rodriguez Calderón is a data project lead at The Marshall Project. His work and practice sits at the intersection of collaborative design, product development and emerging tech. Most recently, he wrapped up a year-long co-design project where he facilitated community listening sessions with people and groups affected by book bans in prisons… Read more
Co-founder, Solutions Journalism Network
Tina Rosenberg is the co-founder of the Solutions Journalism Network (SJN). She is a longtime New York Times journalist, writing editorials and Sunday magazine articles. She and SJN co-founder David Bornstein wrote the New York Times Fixes column together for 11 years… Read more
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (UK)
Amy Ross Arguedas is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, where she is currently a researcher on the Digital News Report. She previously worked on the Reuters Institute’s Trust in News Project. Her research interests include news audiences and the relationship between journalism and new technologies… Read more
Director and Professor, School of Journalism and Media, UT Austin
David Ryfe is the director of and professor in the School of Journalism and Media at The University of Texas at Austin. During his career, he has published widely in the areas of presidential communication, political communication, public deliberation, and the history and sociology of news… Read more
Director, technology and media, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs
Anya Schiffrin is the director of the technology and media specialization at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a senior lecturer who teaches on global media, innovation and human rights. She writes on a number of topics related to journalism sustainability, impact and online disinformation… Read more
Strategic Partner Manager, YouTube News
Nicolette leads U.S. partnership efforts for YouTube’s largest digital news publishers and independent journalists. In her role, she is focused on helping her partners create the highest quality content, while growing sustainable businesses on the platform. She previously spent eight years at Google in ad sales, where she helped brand advertisers transform their marketing plans… Read more
Senior Research Fellow, Center for News, Technology & Innovation
Connie Moon Sehat is a senior research fellow at the Center for News, Technology & Innovation. As a news and internet researcher, her work focuses on questions related to online journalism, information, and conversational quality. Dr. Sehat has focused on the intersections of technology and democratic life for over twenty-five years… Read more
Editorial Director for AI initiatives, The New York Times
Zach Seward is the editorial director for AI initiatives at The New York Times, responsible for new forms of journalism made possible by artificial intelligence. Previously, he was a co-founder of the business news organization Quartz, where he held various leadership roles… Read more
CEO, The Texas Tribune
Sonal Shah is the chief executive officer at The Texas Tribune. She has started and led social impact efforts in academia, government, and the private and philanthropic sectors for over 25 years. Previously, she served as interim executive vice president at United Way Worldwide… Read more
Co-founder, The Texas Tribune, and Senior Advisor, Emerson Collective
Evan Smith is a senior advisor at Emerson Collective, working closely with journalists and funders around the country to support the local news ecosystem. He’s also an assistant professor of practice at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where he teaches courses on the politics of the election season and media and democracy… Read more
Contributor/Columnist, MSNBC
Charlie Sykes is an NBC/ MSNBC contributor. He is also author of nine books, including A Nation of Victims, Dumbing Down Our Kids, Profscam, The Hollow Men, The End of Privacy, 50 Rules Kids Won’t Learn in School, A Nation of Moochers, and Fail U. The False Promise of Higher Education… Read more
Executive Producer, CBS News’ CBS Mornings
Award-winning journalist, producer and program executive Shawna Thomas is the executive producer for CBS News’ CBS MORNINGS. She joined CBS News from Quibi, where she served as a content development executive working on short-form news programming from CBS News, NBC News and BBC News for the mobile video platform… Read more
Journalist and Content Creator, HugoDécrypte (France)
Hugo Travers founded HugoDécrypte in 2015. Its mission is to make news and major contemporary issues accessible to as many people as possible, especially young people. The development has been exponential until becoming one of the leading online media among 18-34 year-olds in France, now totaling more than 14 million people on its various social networks… Read more
Founder and President, Rebuild Local News
Steven Waldman is the founder and president of Rebuild Local News. He is also the co-founder and former president of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in newsrooms across America. Before becoming an advocate for local journalism, Steve was a journalist covering national politics for Newsweek, U.S. News and World Reports and Washington Monthly… Read more
Visual Investigations journalist, The New York Times
Haley Willis is a journalist with the Visual Investigations team at The New York Times, which combines traditional reporting with digital and open source methods to investigate issues of conflict, corruption and human rights — from forced labor in China to Israel’s air war in Gaza… Read more
Founder, Agencia Media, and Co-founder, The 19th*
As Founder & Principal of Agencia Media, Amanda Zamora partners with organizations to drive narrative change and civic engagement. She has more than 20 years of experience as a journalist, storyteller, editor and disruptor in the news industry, most recently as co-founder and former publisher of The 19th… Read more
Chief Communications and Impact Officer, EXILE
Jose Zamora serves as EXILE’s chief communications and impact officer. He is a 2020 JSK Stanford Fellow, who has focused his career on the promotion of collaboration networks, innovation, and freedom of the press. He previously worked as senior vice president of Univision News (2012-2022)… Read more
