Leading networks crack the code for the new local news through networking and collaboration

In recent years journalists have been successfully turning to networks to create sustainable bonds and to help them provide the level of coverage their communities deserve. During this year’s ISOJ, we’ll talk with some of these journalists and the leading member organizations they work with, including The American Journalism Project, the Institute of Nonprofit News, and Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers. 

The 22nd International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ) will host a panel discussion between six outstanding journalists and executives who will explain how networking and collaboration are paving the way for innovations and success in local news. 

The panel will be on the fourth day of ISOJ Online, Thursday, April 29, at 4 p.m. U.S. Central Time (-5:00 UTC). Use this or any other time zone converter to find out the equivalent time in your region. But first, visit ISOJ’s website for more details and register here for ISOJ.

The panel will be moderated by Karen Rundlet, the director of the Knight Foundation’s Journalism Program. In this role, she has the opportunity to support local communities by investing in new methods and models to advance excellence in journalism and civic media. Rundlet spent the majority of her career as a journalist at the Miami Herald before joining the Knight Foundation. She was also a news producer in Miami (WPLG-TV), Atlanta (WAGA-TV) and New York (WNBC-TV).

Panelists come from leading organizations, all committed to helping local news outlets thrive:

• Sarahbeth Berman is the CEO of the American Journalism Project (AJP). She was previously the Global Head of Public Affairs at Teach for All, a global network of social enterprises from 53 countries, where she led market and communications, public sector partnerships, and research and evaluation. She serves on the board of directors at the Mark Morris Dance Group and the Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School.
• Sue Cross leads the Institute of Nonprofit News (INN), a network of over 300 nonprofit news and media organizations across North America, as Executive Director and CEO. She joined INN in 2015 to build an effective media network and advance social enterprise models for investigative and public service oriented journalism. She serves on boards including Stanford University’s John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships, EdSource, and on the National Advisory Council for the Emma Bowen Foundation.
• Emilee Gilpin joined the IndigiNews team as managing editor in late 2020 after starting as an advisor for the IndigiNews project. Gilpin has spent her career as a journalist working to de-colonize and Indigenize the media. She previously led the ‘First Nations Forward’ project at Canada’s National Observer, dedicated to stories of success and self-determination in communities across B.C. which turned into a managing director position.
• Lisa Heyamoto oversees the new GNI Startups Lab program at LION Publishers. For the past nine years, she has been a senior instructor at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication, where she focused on community building through storytelling, and before that, worked as a columnist and reporter for The Sacramento Bee and The Seattle Times. She also co founded The 32 Percent Project, which explores what drives and disrupts public trust in the news media.
• Mukhtar Ibrahim is the founder of Sahan Journal, a nonprofit news organization that covers Minnesota’s immigrants and new Americans. He previously worked as a reporter for the Star Tribune and MPR News. Ibrahim is a recipient of a leadership fellowship from Bush Foundation, a “Great Immigrant” award from Carnegie Corporation of New York, Twin Cities Business Magazine’s “100 People to Know,” Islamic Resource Group’s “Building Bridges Award in Media,” and University of Minnesota’s “Above the Fold” award.
• Mazin Sidahmed is the co-executive director of Documented, the non-profit news site devoted solely to covering New York City’s immigrants and the policy. Sidahmed previously worked for the Guardian US in New York during the 2016 US elections, and later left the news desk to join the award-winning Guardian Mobile Innovation Lab where he helped develop new mobile-specific story formats. He started his career writing for The Daily Star in Beirut. He reported on the Syrian refugee crisis, weapons transfers to Lebanon and the plight of migrant domestic workers.

Don’t forget to register for the Knight Center’s International Symposium on Online Journalism and join the conversation. Register now: https://isoj2021.splashthat.com/w