2018 Fellowship Class
Farah Ajlouni
Jordan | News Anchor
Daniel Pearl Fellow | Host: 60 Minutes
A news anchor and correspondent for Jordan TV’s daily English news program, Farah Ajlouni was raised in France, Chile and Italy as an ambassador’s daughter but went against her family’s wishes to become a journalist. She has reported on issues ranging from the Syrian refugee crisis to farmers facing irrigation problems.
Read: 60 Minutes
Samarth Bansal
India | Data journalist, Hindustan Times
Alfred Friendly Fellow | Host: The Wall Street Journal
A data journalist with Hindustan Times in New Delhi, Samarth Bansal is dedicated to forceful investigative and data-driven reporting. He is also part of a tight-knit group of data journalists and programmers who are using innovative interactive data visualizations to improve how they tell stories online. His stories include an investigation of a fraudulent job placement network in Delhi and the creation of a Women Empowerment Index.
Read: Health in India | Russian Trolls | Newsroom Contributions | Elon Musk: 4,925 Tweets | Elon Musk
Juan Luis Garcia
Mexico | Reporter, SinEmbargo
Patrick and Janna Stueve Foundation Fellow | Host: Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, and Texas Tribune
Working in the most unsafe country to do journalism in North America, Juan Luis Garcia’s coverage has focused on crime and security — including the spread of the drug cartels, local government agencies linked to crime organizations and federal government corruption.
Read: Immigration | Tiger | Opioides | Activistas Cubanos | Journalism’s Future
Anna Yakutenko
Ukraine | Reporter, Kyiv Post
Alfred Friendly Fellow | Host: KCUR, the National Public Radio affiliate in Kansas City, and the Chicago Tribune
As a reporter at the Kyiv Post, Anna Yakutenko has primarily covered social problems throughout Ukraine. She was a lead reporter for a Journalism of Tolerance project that highlighted challenges faced by sexual, ethnic and other minorities in the country, as well as people with physical disabilities and those living in poverty. She also covered social changes in war-damaged areas of Eastern Ukraine.
Read: Employment | Wrongful Convictions | Underground Railroad | Una Walkenhorst | Japanese Chef
Gulam Jeelani
India | Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman Foundation Fellow | Host: Minneapolis Star Tribune
From a modest upbringing in the Kashmir Valley, Gulam Jeelani has distinguished himself in his work as a Special Correspondent for Hindustan Times in New Delhi. As a member of the newspaper’s national affairs team, he has covered state elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat, and politics under the ruling party. He has also coordinated teams of reporters, editors and photojournalists for the newspaper and is passionate about development and socio-economic issues in New Delhi.
Read: Engineering Lessons | School Attack | Activists Arrested | $138 Million Aid | Bus Tour
Ankur Paliwal
India | Science journalist
Food Security Media Fellow | Host: Scientific American, the Pulitzer Center, and Undark
Ankur has written investigative articles on science, health and environmental issues throughout the country, including the death of children to mysterious fever and the government’s mishandling of critically polluted areas. He also won the Next Generation of Science Journalists Award in 2017 at the World Health Summit in Berlin. Paliwal will be pioneering a new specialization in our fellowship focusing on food security issues.
Watch: Food Security Fellowship Video
Aleksandra Denkovska Gocevska
Macedonia | Correspondent, NOVA TV
Macedonian Fellow | Host: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Gocevska was a reporter for a daily newspaper and then a news service before joining NOVA TV. Gocevska says her “real love for journalism” came during an investigative reporting training session when she heard a talk by Paul Radu, a former Alfred Friendly Fellow and a co-founder of Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a consortium operating in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Central America.
Danche Azmanova
Macedonia | Correspondent, NOVA TV
Macedonian Fellow | Host: WCSC Live5News, Charleston, SC
Azmanova, 25, has worked as a journalist for NOVA TV for four years. She hopes to eventually become an editor-in-chief and, in the long-term, an arbiter of media freedom for Macedonia.She said Macedonia is known as “the bad boy of the Balkans,” and she fears conditions are getting worse. With declining press freedom and revelations of government wiretapping of journalists, Azmanova said she wants to help drive the change to secure a free press for her country.
Read: TV Reporting | Learning by Doing
Ivan Kuzmanovski
Macedonia | Editor, Sitel Television
Macedonian Fellow | Host: WBTV, Charlotte, NC
Kuzmanovski, 30, has worked as a journalist for more than 10 years, reporting from throughout the Balkan region and Europe. He has covered a range of breaking news events, from some of the worst natural catastrophes in the country to the largest migration crises in Europe.
Read Blog: First Week
Krenar Sadiku
Macedonia | Founder and journalist at VFV Media
Macedonian Fellow | Host: Missouri Business Alert
Sadiku, 32, founder and journalist at VFV Media, the house of the digital media sites, medial.mk and post.mk. He believes Macedonia is on the verge of a journalistic transformation and wants to be part of the movement for high-quality and ethical journalism in this new era.
Read: Meeting Journalists | Student Business Plan | Giving Your Heart
Nikola Krstikj
Macedonia | assistant editor and anchor for Alfa TV
Macedonian Fellow | Host: KCPT, Kansas City, MO
The breadth of Krstikj’s coverage ranges from simple reporting on foreign investments to investigating the government subsidies they get, and from straightforward writing about the national budget to analyzing its impact on the overall economy and on the individual citizen.
Read: Missouri Method