2011 Heartland Fellows Selected
15 journalists have been selected to take part in a fellowship program that challenges reporters to go beyond familiar sound bites and instead cover the complexities of immigration with depth and context. The program, Immigration in the Heartland, is being conducted by the Institute for Justice and Journalism (IJJ) in partnership with the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication and its Institute for Research and Training.
The program opens March 5, featuring discussions with experts, field reporting and professional workshops. Issues to be explored include education, labor and immigration law. Speakers with contrasting views on immigration will make presentations on the pros and cons of existing and proposed state legislation.
On March 9, the fellowship program moves to Dallas for discussions on the economic effects of immigration and for reporting from federal immigration courts. Officials of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also will provide a briefing for the Fellows.
The selected journalists, from print, broadcast and online reporting sites, are:
■ Michael Baker, senior staff writer, The Oklahoman
■ Maria Bastidas, associate editor, Mundo Hispanico newspaper, Atlanta
■ Jason Buch, reporter, San Antonio Express-News
■ M. Scott Carter, Capitol bureau reporter, The Journal Record, Oklahoma City
■ Rachel Cernansky, freelancer, Boulder, Colo.
■ Diana Correa, executive producer, Hispanic Information & Telecommunications Network, New York
■ Jaclyn Cosgrove, investigative reporter, Oklahoma Watch
■ Rebekah Cowell, freelance contributor, Independent Weekly, Durham, N.C.
■ Ralph De La Cruz, blogger and reporter, Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
■ Sarah Gustavus, reporter, KUNM (NPR-affiliated station), Albuquerque
■ Alex Kellogg, national correspondent, NPR Washington Bureau
■ Jens Krogstad, reporter, Des Moines Register
■ Kari Lydersen, freelancer, Chicago
■ Sandra Martinez, reporter, The Santa Fe New Mexican and editor of La Voz section
■ Teresa Puente, blogger and associate professor, Columbia College Chicago
KJ