When the 2015 Breaking News Photography Pulitzer Prize winner, David Carson, applied for the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship (JSK), he joked that he thought the experience would be as surreal as walking on the moon. “I [didn’t] really know what to expect,” he said. The size of the fellowship cohort changes every year, with Carson selected as just one of 13 journalists for the 2024-2025 term.
Founded in 1966, the JSK Fellowship at Stanford University is a nine-month program that provides experienced journalists with the resources and support to step back from their daily routines and address journalism challenges in their own communities. From defending press freedom to combating misinformation, the fellowship encourages participants to explore innovative solutions that strengthen their communities.
Each year, the program brings together a diverse cohort of journalists from around the globe. As members of the 2024-2025 cohort, fellows like Carson gain access to Stanford’s courses and resources, allowing them to explore modern technologies and approaches that shape the future of media.
According to Carson, Stanford’s access to cutting edge technology and its wide array of courses have been a highlight for JSK fellows. For Carson, whose goal is to rebuild public trust in news photography and combat the use of false AI-generated images in journalism, the courses helped him to understand more about disinformation and AI.
“I took a data science of disinformation class with Professor David Donaho, and it really kind of dovetailed in with some of my other stuff I’ve done outside of classes,” Carson said.
2010 Editorial Cartooning Pulitzer Prize winner and 2024-2025 JSK cohort fellow, Mark Fiore, found the fellowship inspiring, describing the courses as a “springboard”.
“They’re providing you with the ability, whether it’s through enhancing what you’ve already done or giving you new tools to really get into some new and exciting place,” Fiore said.
The classes at Stanford weren’t the only eye-opening feature of JSK. One of JSK’s defining features is its professional and demographic diversity. “We have people who are editors, reporters, photographers, and even an oddball political cartoonist like me,” Fiore said. “Everyone brings their own unique perspective to the table.”
This diverse and collaborative environment allowed the fellows to learn from one another and share their own experiences.
Gregory Gondwe, an investigative journalist from Malawi and founder of the Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ), is another 2024-2025 JSK cohort fellow.
Gondwe found that the “cultural and intellectual diversity has expanded [his] worldview and deepened his understanding of global journalism.” PIJ is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing the public with a trustworthy source of transparent news in Malawi. Gondwe was inspired by the work of nonprofit media outlets in South Africa exposing corruption within the government to found PIJ.
JSK fellows found the program a transformative journey. Gondwe said, “the experiences and knowledge I’ve gained are already reshaping my goals and visions. By the time I leave, I anticipate being not just a different person, but also a transformed profession.”