25 journalists selected for first round of 2022-2023 Product Immersion program; applications open for next cohort

By Newmark J-School Staff

The product development and management program for newsrooms is now accepting applications for journalists in the Asia-Pacific region until Sept. 15, 2022; the cohort for the Europe, Middle East and Africa cohort has been selected to start next month. a

The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY is pleased to announce the first 2022-2023 cohort of the Product Immersion for Small Newsrooms program. Applications for the second cohort, for journalists in the Asia-Pacific region, are now open as well.

The two-month, tuition-free online program aims to teach small to mid-sized news organizations ways to adopt product thinking methodologies in their workflow to allow for more efficient and sustainable product development and management. The 25 journalists selected for the first cohort come from the following countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa: Egypt, France, Ghana, Italy, Lebanon, Liberia, Kenya, Malawi, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Romania, Spain, South Africa, Switzerland, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Many of them work in small newsrooms for magazines, newspapers, television and radio stations, and online startups with fewer than 25 employees.

“We are thrilled to welcome 25 new journalists to this cohort and we’re excited about their commitment to learning how product thinking can help them on their path towards financial sustainability and attract new audiences,” said Marie Gilot, Executive Director of J+ at the Newmark J-School.

This training program, in partnership with the Google News Initiative (GNI) and News Product Alliance (NPA), offers online classes led by industry experts and product design practitioners from newsrooms around the world. Additionally, participants will also receive small-group coaching throughout the program.

“We are proud to welcome a new cohort of emerging product thinkers from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Not only will they work on finding solutions through product development and management for their newsrooms but they will also bring their own experiences and perspectives to the news product discipline as a whole,” said Feli Carrique, Executive Director of NPA.

Journalists and media practitioners in the Asia-Pacific region who want to take part in this training can now apply to be part of the next cohort. The program will run virtually from Nov. 18, 2022 to Feb. 8, 2023. To be considered for the program, applicants must submit the online application, which includes several short responses about the applicant’s familiarity with and interest in product development and a letter of newsroom commitment from the applicant’s organization. Journalists and media practitioners with no experience in product are encouraged to apply. Instruction will be in English and fluency in English is required.

“This program will provide journalists with the tools, resources, and a community of other product thinkers who will help advance the news industry as a whole, and we’re excited to bring the program back to the Asia-Pacific region,” said Marco Túlio Pires, News Lab Lead for GNI.

Recruitment for the Americas cohort will begin in November 2022. To receive updates about the Product Immersion program, including email alerts when future applications open, please register for our mailing list.

Meet the 2022 Europe/Middle East/Africa cohort of the Product Immersion program:

• Ismail Akwei is the editor-in-chief of the AfricaWeb group comprising GhanaWeb, CamerounWeb, TanzaniaWeb and MyNigeria. He is based in Accra, Ghana.

• Quentin Ariès is a reporter and the editor of ereb, a new European cross-border magazine from Babel International. He is based in Brussels, Belgium.

• Samya Ayish is a journalist, media trainer, and communication manager at the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism. She is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

• Ilia Donskikh manages translations and publishing with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and its regional partner centers, and coordinates multimedia projects with the tech and web teams.

• Anita E. Eboigbe is the editor of HumAngle Membership, the direct-user interface arm of HumAngle Media, where she was also the former managing editor. She is based in Abuja, Nigeria.

• Alexandru Enășescu is the founding editor of Iașul nostru, a local newsletter-first publication, and newsletter editor for PressOne, an independent media outlet in Romania. He is based in Iași, Romania.

• Ahmed Esmat is a media technology, digital transformation, and product lead consultant at E3lam, an Egyptian news website. He is based in Alexandria, Egypt.

• Catherine Gicheru is the director of the African Women Journalism Project, a network of women journalists dedicated to strengthening the voices of African women journalists and driving coverage of underreported topics. She is based in Nairobi, Kenya.

• Frankie Goodway is head of production at the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, where she leads a team editing, fact-checking and producing stories on health, technology, the environment, inequality and corruption. She is based in London, United Kingdom.

• Paul Ilado is the head of content for the Radio Africa Group, which consists of national radio stations, a TV station and a national newspaper The Star. He is based in Nairobi, Kenya.

• Pius Katunzi is the managing editor of The Observer, an independent and weekly newspaper in Kampala, Uganda.

• Omar Mostafa is a digital strategist at Al-Fanar Media, a digital platform specialized in higher education in the Arab world. He is based in Cairo, Egypt.

• Domenico Mussolino is the founder and editor-in-chief of CyberCrimeClues, an online bilingual news organization focused on cyber crimes and frauds. He is based in Alghero, Italy.

• Winston Mwale is the founder and editor-in-chief of AfricaBrief, an online news outlet that specializes in solution and investigative journalism. He is based in Liongwe, Malawi.

• Nelly Kalu is a contributing anchor with Yes 101.7 FM Ibadan and is skilled in research, OSINT methodologies, digital investigations, solutions journalism and media innovations. She is based in Ibadan, Nigeria.

• Timi Odueso is a reporter at TechCabal, a tech publication where he manages their newsletters. He is based in Abuja-Kaduna, Nigeria.

• Tanya Pampalone is a business development associate for the media groups Media Hack Collective, Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism, Alibi Investigations and Daily Maverick. She works with teams based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

• Ana Gómez Parra is the newsroom coordinator at Maldita.es, a Spanish nonprofit organization that fights disinformation through fact-checking and data journalism. She is based in Madrid, Spain.

• Maya Plentz is the founder and editor-in-chief of The UN Brief, a media outlet that reports on the happenings in the United Nations and European Union. She is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

• Niahson Porte is a co-owner of Frontpageafrica newspaper, an investigative newspaper in Liberia. He manages the newspaper’s website and is responsible for the newspaper’s digital products strategy. He is based in Monrovia, Liberia.

• Calvin Rock is a reporter and fact-checker at Africa Uncensored. He is based in Nairobi, Kenya.

• Giulio Rubino is an investigative journalist and is Editor in Chief of Irpimedia, an Italian center of investigative journalism. He is based in Rome, Italy.

• Zoltán Sipos is the manager and editor in chief of Átlátszó Erdély, an investigative news outlet focusing on the 1.2 million Hungarian minority living in Romania. Heis based in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

• Iñaki Soto is the editor-in-chief of GARA Newspaper, a bilingual media outlet from the Basque Country. He is based in Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain.

• Emilie Sueur is the editor-in-chief of L’Orient-Le Jour, a French-language daily newspaper in Lebanon. She is based in Beirut, Lebanon.Share