Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash
With 70 new local newsrooms opening in the United States in 2020 and 2021, young reporters are finding new opportunities to launch a career in journalism while making an impact in communities that historically have been underserved. Join this March 3 ZOOM event to hear from savvy news innovators and leaders about where to look for opportunities, what skills are most in demand, and how the resurgence in local news is helping to fight the spread of misinformation and mistrust in media.
Presented with the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
The Center's programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
JEN CHUNG, SENIOR EDITOR, NYC ACCOUNTABILITY DESK, WNYC; CO-FOUNDER, GOTHAMIST
Jen Chung co-created Gothamist in 2002 with Jake Dobkin, establishing it as a website about New York City and everything that happens in it and an essential must-read for New Yorkers. She also launched sites across the country and world, including DCist, LAist, and Londonist. She loves learning about NYC arcana and meeting bodega cats. She is currently Senior Editor of NYC Accountability in the Gothamist + WNYC newsroom.
NICHOLAS JOHNSTON, PUBLISHER, AXIOS
Nicholas Johnston is the publisher of Axios, where he now focuses primarily on Axios Local and other major newsroom initiatives. Previously, he was Axios’ editor in chief where he led the entire Axios newsroom and regularly spoke about politics, policy and business on MSNBC, CNBC and Fox News.
Nick also regularly speaks at media conferences about the creation of Axios and how the lessons of Smart Brevity can be applied to other newsrooms and all forms of communication. Nick was previously managing editor at Bloomberg where he oversaw newsletters and breaking news coverage in Washington. He also served as a reporter for Bloomberg where he covered the White House, Capitol Hill and the 2008 presidential campaign. Nick began his journalism career at The Washington Post.
CHERYL THOMPSON-MORTON, BLACK MEDIA INITIATIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR COMMUNITY MEDIA, NEWMARK J-SCHOOL
In her role as Black Media Initiative Director for the Center for Community Media at the Newmark J-School, Cheryl Thompson-Morton works to support Black media outlets through training, research, convenings, and connecting them to financial resources.
Previously, she was program manager for the Lenfest Institute for Journalism in Philadelphia, where she created, launched, and executed several initiatives to increase equity in news media. These include the Lenfest Next Generation Fund, the Community Listening and Engagement Fund, and the Philadelphia News Ecosystem Collaboration Grant Program.
She also led Lenfest’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy, focusing on individual support to journalists of color, investment in news organizations owned by people of color, and newsroom collaboration programs.
She earned a business administration degree from Drexel University, where she graduated summa cum laude.
LORI WALDON, PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER, KOAT TV (ALBUQUERQUE-SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO)
Lori Waldon is the President and General Manager of KOAT TV, the ABC affiliate in Albuquerque-Santa Fe, New Mexico owned by Hearst Television. In her role as President and General Manager Lori oversees an award-winning station with a strong reputation for journalism excellence and outstanding community service.
Lori was promoted to her current position after serving as Regional Director of News for Hearst Television and news director of KCRA/KQCA in Sacramento, California. As Regional Director of News, Lori provided news operations oversight for both KOAT and KSBW TV in Monterey/Salinas, California. As news director of KCRA/KQCA, she led a nationally-recognized news operation with an outstanding reputation for strong investigative, enterprise and political reporting. Under Lori’s leadership, KCRA3 earned two prestigious national Edward R. Murrow Awards for Overall Excellence and Breaking News. Under her leadership, KCRA 3 also earned six consecutive regional Murrows for Overall News Excellence; three consecutive Emmy Awards for News Excellence, and Emmys for Breaking News and Best Newscast. During Lori’s tenure, KCRA 3 News was also a dominant ratings winner in the Sacramento market and northern California. The station consistently earns #1 ratings for its morning, noon, early evening and late newscasts.
Before joining KCRA, Lori was the news director at WISN 12 News, the ABC Hearst affiliate in Milwaukee. She became the first African- American news director in both Milwaukee and in Wisconsin. Under her leadership, WISN 12 News became the number-one rated station in Southeastern Wisconsin and earned multiple awards. Those awards include a national Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast; Seven regional Murrow awards for news excellence; a Midwest/Chicago Emmy award for Breaking News; a Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism; 28 First Place Associated Press awards; and several awards from the Milwaukee Press Club. WISN 12 News also twice earned “Best Television News Operation” from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association.
Lori joined WISN-TV from Sacramento duopoly CBS 13/CW31, where she served as assistant news director. She previously spent 13 years in news management roles at KPIX-TV in San Francisco, serving as managing editor, executive producer and news producer. Prior to KPIX-TV, Lori worked as a news reporter at stations in Charlotte, N.C.; Mobile, Ala. and Peoria, Ill.
Lori graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in political science, and a minor in journalism. She received her master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She is visiting faculty at The Poynter Institute for Journalism Studies, and a Leadership Coach for the Radio, Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). Lori is also an active member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
MODERATOR: BRIAN STELTER, CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR, RELIABLE SOURCES, CNN
Brian Stelter is the anchor of "Reliable Sources," which examines the week's top media stories every Sunday at 11:00 a.m. ET on CNN/U.S, and the chief media correspondent for CNN Worldwide. Stelter reports for CNN Business, and writes a nightly e-newsletter.
Prior to joining CNN in November 2013, Stelter was a media reporter at The New York Times. Starting in 2007, he covered television and digital media for the Business Day and Arts section of the newspaper. He was also a lead contributor to the "Media Decoder" blog.
Stelter published The New York Times best-selling book, “HOAX: Donald Trump, Fox News, and the Dangerous Distortion of Truth” in fall 2020, which tells the twisted story of the relationship between President Trump and Fox News. Over the course of two years writing the book, Stelter spoke with over 250 current and former Fox insiders in an effort to understand the inner workings of Rupert Murdoch's multibillion-dollar media empire.
In 2013, he published The New York Times best-selling book, "Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV", about the competitive world of morning news shows. He is a consulting producer on Apple's drama "The Morning Show," which is inspired by his book.
In 2020, Stelter executive produced the HBO Documentary, "After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News," directed by Andrew Rossi, who featured Stelter in his 2011 documentary, "Page One: Inside the New York Times." Stelter was also named to Forbes Magazine's "30 Under 30: Media" for three consecutive years, and Fortune Magazine’s “40 Under 40: Media & Entertainment.”
In January 2004, while he was a freshman at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, Stelter created TV Newser, a blog dedicated to coverage of the television news industry. He sold it to Mediabistro.com in July 2004, but continued to edit and write for the blog during the next three years until he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Journalism. He is on the board of Baltimore Student Media, a nonprofit that publishes Towson's independent student newspaper, The Towerlight.
Presented with the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.