Class of 2006

Claudia Antunes (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Deputy Rio de Janeiro bureau chief, Folha de S. Paulo: The impact of economic integration and trade agreements on development; changes in the work market along with their influence over politics and contemporary forms of organizing civil society. Antunes is a John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Latin American Nieman Fellow.

Zippi N. Brand (Tel-Aviv, Israel), freelance journalist and documentary filmaker: What happens in a multiethnic, democratic society whose members have very deep religious and political differences when the glue that held them together — the struggle for survival — is no longer relevant?

Kim Cloete (Cape Town, South Africa), specialist journalist, South African Broadcasting Corporation: To explore the potential of bringing Africa fully into the global economy through investment, targeted aid, fair trade and debt cancellation. Funding for her fellowship is provided by The Nieman Society of Southern Africa.

Chris Cobler, editor, Greeley (Colo.) Tribune: How a community newspaper can use the Web to guide new and younger readers back to the paper, and how it can foster a constructive conversation about changing demographics. Cobler is the Donald W. Reynolds Nieman Fellow in community journalism. His fellowship is supported by a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

Mary C. Curtis, executive features editor/columnist, The Charlotte Observer: Examine the sociological, historical and economic forces that have limited the role of minorities in the fine arts in the United States.

Taghreed El-Khodary (Gaza City, Palestine), freelance television and print reporter: Explore how insights from political science, international relations and conflict resolution can focus journalistic analysis in Middle Eastern news media. El-Khodary is the Ruth Cowan Nash Fellow, with funding provided by the Nash Fund.

Cathy Grimes, education reporter, Walla Walla (Wash.) Union-Bulletin: To study at-risk student populations and the social service and public education systems that serve them, and explore public policymaking related to education.

David Heath, investigative reporter, The Seattle Times: Examine the influence and consequences of federal policy on medical research and on the development and marketing of prescription drugs.

Yaping Jiang (Beijing, China), executive vice president, People’s Daily Online: Web media and intellectual property rights, the Western journalistic system and media management

Mary Ann Jolley (Sydney, Australia), producer/reporter, Australian Broadcasting Corporation: To explore the role of the international journalist in reporting from countries where freedom of speech is repressed and the impact of such reporting on international policy

Margaret Kriz, energy and environment reporter, National Journal: Examine the world’s energy options and their impacts on economics, international relations, the environment and health.

Jacob Levenson, freelance reporter, Brooklyn, N.Y.: Explore the relationship between culture, social crises and political movements, with a specific emphasis on writing about that intersection through narrative.

Guillermo E. Franco Morales (Bogota, Colombia), content manager of new media and editor, eltiempo.com: How news organizations in developing countries, particularly newspapers, can take advantage of Internet not just to survive but to prosper and to strengthen the democracy. He is a John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Latin American Nieman Fellow.

Takashi Oshima (Tokyo, Japan), reporter, The Asahi Shimbun: Emerging regional cooperation in East Asia and the foreign policies of Japan, the United States and China toward East Asia

Jon Palfreman, independent documentary film producer, Palfreman Film Group: To explore international science, technology and health policy in relation to issues such as global climate change and to explore the use of visual media in social science research.

Altin Raxhimi (Tirana, Albania), producer-editor for Top Channel TV and correspondent for Transitions Online: How main monotheistic religions (Islam, Christianity, Judaism) reflect and influence political decisions and popular mores vis a vis those political decisions. Raxhimi is the Carroll Binder Fellow, with funding provided by the Carroll Binder Fund.

Nancy San Martin, world reporter, The Miami Herald: The history of conflicts, emergence of post-turmoil societies, U.S. role in development and effects of globalization.

Beena Sarwar (Karachi, Pakistan), editor op-ed and features, The News International, Jang Group: Examine issues and linkages related to domestic, regional and international peace and conflict resolution with a focus on gender, media and domestic and foreign policies. Sarwar is the Chiba-Nieman Fellow. Her fellowship is supported by the Atsuko Chiba Foundation, established in memory of Atsuko Chiba, a 1968 Nieman Fellow.

Bill Schiller (Toronto, Canada), foreign editor, Toronto Star: Examine the transformation of American foreign policy from NSC-68, the guiding document of the Cold War period, to the current National Security Strategy of 2002. Schiller is the Martin Wise Goodman Canadian Nieman Fellow, with funding provided by the Goodman Trust in Canada and the Goodman Fund in the United States.

Charles Sennott, London bureau chief, The Boston Globe: The contemporary history of religious fundamentalisms in the three Abrahamic faiths and the role religion is playing in shaping the news from Washington to the West Bank.

Jeb Sharp, reporter/correspondent, Public Radio International’s “The World”: The history of U.S. foreign policy.

Alice Tatah (Yaounde, Cameroon), producer/presenter, Cameroon Radio and Television: Health reporting and media approaches to public-health problems — the use of behavior-change communication in reducing the impact of HIV/AIDS on Cameroon’s youthful population. Tatah is the Robert Waldo Ruhl Fellow, with funding provided by the Robert Waldo Ruhl Fellowship Fund.