Fellows 2017–2018
Michael Schofield
Michael Schofield is the UX development lead with WhereBy.Us, which held a 2017–2018 RJI institutional fellowship.
Meredith Broussard
Meredith Broussard teaches data journalism at New York University. She’s interested in “future-proofing” the news by establishing an archive for hard-to-save, born-digital content that can be viewed on tomorrow’s devices. Broussard’s project was inspired by the investigative reporting software she wrote as part of her new book, “Artificial Unintelligence: How Computers Misunderstand the World.” Broussard … Continued
Brant Houston
Brant Houston is the Knight Chair in Investigative Reporting at the University of Illinois, where he also oversees an online newsroom, CU-CitizenAccess.org. Before coming to Illinois in 2007, he was executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors – a 5,000-member professional association headquartered at the Missouri School of Journalism – for more than a decade. … Continued
Pam Dempsey
Pam Dempsey is the executive director of the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. She is an award-winning journalist who has done investigative reporting and editing on topics including agribusiness, migrant farm workers, health, housing and Native American government. Dempsey has developed community engagement programs and investigative reporting workshops. She also helped coordinate the launch of … Continued
Max Freund
Max Freund is the managing editor of digital at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Previously, he was an interactive media journalist with The Gazette, and the digital news product manager for Fusionfarm, a marketing and advertising agency. Freund also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Iowa, where he received bachelor’s degrees … Continued
Zack Kucharski
Zack Kucharski, executive editor of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, oversees the news operation of the state’s second-largest daily newspaper. He began his journalism career at The Gazette in 2000 as a freelancer-turned-intern-turned-staff writer. Since then, his roles have included building interactive data sets and working as a news editor. Kucharski received a bachelor’s … Continued
Rebekah Monson
Rebekah Monson is co-founder and vice president of product for the media and technology startup WhereBy.Us. Before starting her own company, Monson worked in various newsroom positions at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale and The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington. As communications manager, she led a communications team from 2013 to 2014 at the … Continued
WhereBy.Us
Rebekah Monson, co-founder of WhereBy.Us, will help publishers find revenue opportunities hidden in their data by developing and testing a common data toolkit that will give small, independent publishers the ability to gather and analyze information from various audience engagement events.
Christian Skotte
Christian Skotte is co-director and head of digital of the public radio show Science Friday. Before joining Science Friday, Skotte worked at Freelancers Union, overseeing its content and social media strategies as manager of marketing and communications. Throughout his career, Skotte has spoken at conferences worldwide including those hosted by the Public Radio Program Directors, … Continued
Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting
Pam Dempsey, executive director of the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, will co-lead a team of data journalists and computer scientists who will develop a searchable, interactive database that will help journalists report on large multinational agribusiness companies and provide insights into the many ways these giant companies affect a community, a state and the … Continued