Shaping the Future of Global Journalism: The Reuters Institute Welcomes Its First 2024–2025 Fellowship Cohort

OXFORD, UK — In an era defined by rapid technological disruption, shifting economic models, and an unprecedented crisis of public trust, the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has officially welcomed its first academic cohort of the year. Nine distinguished journalists from across the globe have arrived at the University of Oxford to embark on a transformative one-to-three-term fellowship programme.

Designed to foster international collaboration, rigorous research, and cross-border networking, the fellowship offers a unique space for media practitioners to step away from the daily newsroom grind. Here, they will spend months engaging in high-level seminars, debates, field trips, and collaborative workshops, all geared toward investigating a singular, overarching question: What is the future of journalism, and how do we build it?

Main Facts: A Global Crucible for Media Innovation

The newly inducted cohort brings an extraordinarily diverse array of professional backgrounds to Oxford, spanning investigative data reporting, broadcast media, fact-checking, visual journalism, and exile media. Hailing from Austria, the United States, Jamaica, Finland, Spain, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and beyond, these fellows represent the frontline of modern newsgathering.

Each participant has set out to tackle a specific, pressing challenge facing the media industry today. Their individual research projects range from the ethical dilemmas posed by computational photography and artificial intelligence to the urgent preservation of digital climate archives in the Caribbean and the financial viability of independent journalism for communities in exile.

Supported by prestigious institutions and foundations—including the Austrian Press Agency, Columbia University, the Laudes Foundation, the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, SPH Media, and private benefactors—the fellows will spend their tenure at Oxford producing actionable insights designed to fortify the global press against modern threats.

Chronology: The Journey to Oxford and the Road Ahead

The launch of this year’s fellowship programme is the culmination of a rigorous, highly competitive global selection process that vetted hundreds of applicants based on professional excellence, leadership potential, and the societal relevance of their proposed research projects.

• Selection and Placement (Months Prior): Candidates were evaluated not only on their past journalistic track records—ranging from Pulitzer-level investigative scoops to pioneering fact-checking initiatives—but also on the viability and urgency of their research prospectuses.
• Arrival and Orientation (Week 1): The nine fellows officially checked into the University of Oxford, beginning an intensive orientation schedule focused on familiarising themselves with the university’s historic libraries, digital research hubs, and peer-to-peer working environments.
• The Core Programme (Terms 1 to 3): Over the coming months, the cohort will participate in a structured curriculum of weekly seminars led by industry leaders, academics, and technologists. They will take part in masterclasses on media ethics, audience monetization, and technological adaptation.
• Research and Publication (Culmination): Throughout their stay, the fellows will conduct intensive primary research, culminating in published policy papers or industry toolkits designed to be shared with newsrooms worldwide.

Supporting Data and Cohort Breakdown: Meet the Fellows

The depth of experience within this year’s cohort is reflected in their impressive professional histories and the acute industry vulnerabilities their projects target. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of the nine fellows and their respective research agendas:

1. Florian Schmidt (Austria)

• Role: Verification Officer, APA – Austrian Press Agency
• Sponsor: Austrian Press Agency
• Background: Florian leads the fact-checking division at the Austria Press Agency in Vienna, managing a team dedicated to debunking viral misinformation. He also lectures on verification methodologies across six Austrian universities.
• Project Focus: Trading transparency for trust: what journalism can learn from fact-checkers. Schmidt’s research investigates how mainstream newsrooms can adopt the radical transparency models pioneered by professional fact-checkers to rebuild fading public trust.

2. Natalie Jonas (United States)

• Role: Investigative Journalist & Data Specialist
• Sponsor: Columbia University
• Background: Based in New York, Natalie is a data-driven investigative science journalist whose syndicated reporting has sparked national policy debates and exposed systemic corruption. She holds a master’s degree in data journalism from the Columbia Journalism School.
• Project Focus: Affiliate marketing and online scams in local news. Jonas is examining the hidden financial webs and deceptive advertising practices that exploit vulnerable local news ecosystems.

3. Carol Francis (Jamaica)

• Role: Programmes Manager, The Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica (PBCJ)
• Sponsor: Laudes Foundation
• Background: With more than 30 years of broadcasting excellence across radio and television, Carol is a multi-award-winning media executive who has championed public service broadcasting and innovative digital projects since joining PBCJ in 2013.
• Project Focus: Climate-proofing digital news archives in the Caribbean. Francis is addressing the critical vulnerability of historical media assets in disaster-prone regions, exploring resilient, sustainable architectures for digital preservation.

4. Tatu Blomqvist (Finland)

• Role: Visual Journalism Producer & News Photography Lead, Yle
• Sponsor: Helsingin Sanomat Foundation
• Background: Tatu oversees visual journalism and photography at Finland’s national public broadcaster, Yle. His work centres on the ethical integration of emerging tech, including generative AI and spatial storytelling techniques like photogrammetry.
• Project Focus: Computational photography and the future of photojournalist trust. Blomqvist is studying how manipulated realities and computational imaging tools impact the credibility of visual news.

5. María José de la Iglesia (Spain)

• Role: Visual Journalist & Research Fellow
• Sponsor: Laudes Foundation
• Background: A seasoned picture editor and visual ethics researcher with over a decade of experience contributing to outlets such as The Telegraph and The Times. Her work explores the intersection of AI imagery and environmental representation.
• Project Focus: The visual baseline of environmental journalism. De la Iglesia is mapping how climate, nature, and wildlife are visually framed in the media, particularly in the age of synthetic image generation.

6. Mamatjan Juma (United States)

• Role: Executive Director, Uyghur News Network
• Sponsor: Thomson Reuters Foundation
• Background: Mamatjan founded the Uyghur News Network (UNN) in 2025 following the closure of Radio Free Asia’s Uyghur Service, where he served as deputy director. He holds an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis.
• Project Focus: Sustainable journalism models for communities in exile. Juma is creating operational and financial blueprints for diasporic and exiled media outlets facing systemic suppression.

7. Magdalene Fung (Singapore)

• Role: Hong Kong Correspondent, The Straits Times (SPH Media Trust)
• Sponsor: SPH Media
• Background: Magdalene has built an illustrious career covering Asian markets and geopolitics, serving as a markets editor at Bloomberg and China news editor at the South China Morning Post before taking up her award-winning posting in Hong Kong.
• Project Focus: Lost voices from Hong Kong news. Fung’s research looks at narrative shifts and the silencing of specific societal strata within regional reporting environments.

8. Michelle Martin (Singapore)

• Role: Senior Presenter, MONEY FM 89.3 (SPH Media)
• Sponsor: SPH Media
• Background: A veteran broadcaster with 25 years of experience covering finance and public policy, Michelle is a two-time Asia Podcast Awards winner who has led national electoral coverage and moderated global economic panels. She is also a trained psychotherapist.
• Project Focus: Engagement strategies for broadcast audiences. Martin is exploring psychological and structural frameworks to deepen audience retention and engagement in audio journalism.

9. Khaled Al Khawaldeh (United Arab Emirates)

• Role: Online Journalist, Editor & Founder of Counterpoint (Arab News)
• Sponsor: Mona Megalli
• Background: A Jordanian-Australian journalist based in Dubai, Khaled covers regional breaking news for Arab News, with bylines in The Guardian. Armed with a finance degree and a master’s in journalism from the University of Technology Sydney, he specializes in open-source intelligence (OSINT).
• Project Focus: How to identify coordinated online attempts to shape political narratives. Al Khawaldeh is developing advanced methodologies for journalists to track state-backed and coordinated inauthentic behavior online.

Official Responses: A Vision for the Future of News

Leadership at the Reuters Institute has underscored the critical timing of this year’s cohort. In an address welcoming the fellows to Oxford, Institute directors emphasized that the challenges facing journalism today cannot be solved within isolated newsroom silos.

"We are living through a historic inflection point for the global media," said a spokesperson for the Reuters Institute fellowship team. "From the pervasive threat of generative AI and synthetic media to the economic collapse of local news and the silencing of exiled journalists, the challenges are profound. However, the brilliance, resilience, and pioneering spirit found within this cohort give us immense hope. By bringing these extraordinary minds together in Oxford, we are providing a crucible where tomorrow’s journalistic solutions are forged."

Sponsors have likewise voiced strong enthusiasm for the initiative. Representatives from supporting bodies—ranging from the Laudes Foundation to the Austrian Press Agency—highlighted the vital importance of funding independent, rigorous research that directly addresses structural industry failures.

Implications: What This Means for the Global Media Landscape

The culmination of the fellows’ work over the coming months is expected to yield ripple effects far beyond the academic halls of Oxford. As news organizations grapple with shrinking budgets, plummeting public trust, and technological disruption, the frameworks developed by the 2024–2025 cohort will offer practical, evidence-based roadmaps for survival and renewal.

Key implications of the programme’s research output include:

• Actionable Fact-Checking Protocols: Florian Schmidt’s work could redefine how legacy newsrooms transparently handle source verification, potentially helping to restore sliding public confidence in mainstream reporting.
• Safeguarding Visual Integrity: The combined efforts of Tatu Blomqvist and María José de la Iglesia will provide newsrooms with much-needed ethical guidelines to combat the proliferation of deepfakes and AI-generated climate imagery.
• Financial Resilience in Exile: Mamatjan Juma’s research offers a lifeline for persecuted and displaced communities fighting to maintain independent information channels under authoritarian pressure.
• Defending Local Economies: Natalie Jonas’s investigation into online scams and affiliate marketing aims to protect vulnerable local publications from predatory digital monetization tactics.

Ultimately, the Reuters Institute fellowship remains a vital engine for industry-wide adaptation. By empowering these nine journalists to research, test, and share their findings, the programme continues to play an indispensable role in safeguarding the integrity, independence, and future of global journalism.