John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships names 60th class

The John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University has awarded 13 JSK Journalism Fellowships for the 2026-27 academic year.

The newest JSK Fellows comprise a mix of journalists from a range of news organizations, freelancers and others who are working in organizations that provide critical support to journalists and newsrooms in this era of escalating threats to press freedom and media sustainability.

“Journalists today face increasingly complex and serious challenges to doing their jobs,” said JSK Director Dawn Garcia. “To strengthen journalism’s independence, bolster its essential role in building informed, democratic communities and to keep journalists safe, we need multidisciplinary approaches. I’m excited by the mix of journalism innovators, leaders and those from support organizations we’ve selected to learn together in a stimulating environment and be a catalyst for change.”

The new fellowships class includes eight U.S. and five international fellows. 

They will spend September through next May at Stanford exploring and testing out practical responses to the challenges facing journalists and journalism around the world.

The fellows will participate in tailored JSK workshops and individual coaching designed to help them grow as resilient leaders and become more effective change agents for journalism. They also have the opportunity to create their own rich cohort experience, coming together to learn from and support each other. Additionally, fellows can tap into a variety of resources available on Stanford’s campus, from sitting in on university classes to connecting with world-class faculty through informal interactions and events to accessing its many research institutes.

“To strengthen journalism’s independence, bolster its essential role in building informed, democratic communities and to keep journalists safe, we need multidisciplinary approaches.”

– Dawn Garcia, JSK Fellowships director

The fellows will share their work publicly during the year, highlighting insights they gain through the JSK program’s explore + experiment + refine learning framework. 

The international fellows are from Kyiv, Ukraine; Nairobi, Kenya, Vienna, Austria; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Caracas, Venezuela (in exile, working from the United States).

The Class of 2026-2027 joins a thriving JSK community of journalism innovators. More than 1,000 people from over 80 countries have participated in journalism fellowships at Stanford since the program first began in 1966. JSK provides fellows with several benefits, including a stipend of $130,000 and Stanford health insurance for fellows, spouses and children.

The U.S. Fellows were selected by the JSK Selection Committee, a group of Stanford faculty, staff and journalists, following initial screening and review by a group of JSK alumni and the fellowship directors. The selection committee members are: Adam Banks, professor, faculty director, Program in Writing and Rhetoric and the Institute for Diversity in the Arts, Stanford University; Sara Catania, president, Solutions Journalism Network; Dawn Garcia, JSK director, Stanford University; Tonya Mosley, co-host, Fresh Air and host and executive producer, Truth Be Told; Marcia Parker, vice president, philanthropic partnerships, The New York Times; Cheryl Phillips, Hearst Professional in Residence, director, Big Local News, Stanford University and Ricardo Sandoval-Palos, public editor, Public Broadcasting Service.

JSK Journalism Fellows, Class of 2027