Hear from some of our fellows on the value of their GroundTruth experience.

Julie Turkewitz, national correspondent for The New York Times

Burma Reporting Fellow

When we traveled to Myanmar in 2013, few journalists were working in the country. GroundTruth took a risk, and we all benefitted — I am still in touch with many of colleagues from this program, and I rely on them for ideas and advice. Thank you!

Tracy Jarrett, producer at VICE Media

Global Health Reporting Fellow

Working with the GroundTruth team gave me the experience and confidence to be a one-man-band reporter. I started my fellowship immediately after ending school and did not have much experience. Charlie and his team supported and coached me as I tested myself personally and professionally in the field and in the office. Two years later, I was offered a field reporting job at NBC that I was prepared for in large part because of my fellowship.

Anthony Langat, freelance Kenyan journalist

Investigative Reporting Fellow

The GroundTruth fellowship gave me an opportunity to work on an investigative project that touched on issues of an international nature. Through the fellowship, I gained experience working with other capable journalists and editors. As a young African journalist, it definitely was a plus for my journalism career.

Ahmed Aboulenein, Iraq correspondent for Thomson Reuters

Egypt Reporting Fellow

Working with GroundTruth gave me a fleeting albeit critical taste of freelance journalism, having never experienced that before or since. It allowed me to identify and later work on both my flaws as a journalist and better ways to work in a team. The fellowship also gave me a taste of working without much direct supervision which was a good lesson in decision-making. It also highlighted the importance of organization and managing expectations.

Caelainn Hogan, freelance Irish journalist

Global Health Reporting Fellow

GroundTruth is pioneering a bold new approach to supporting journalists in their pursuit of diverse and insightful reporting on the ground in countries across the world. GroundTruth has not only supported my work and ideas as a freelance journalist, enabling me to follow stories to their source in far flung places, but has also invested in training and resources to make me better prepared and more secure in my work.

Matt Negrin, digital producer at The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Egypt Reporting Fellow

The GroundTruth fellowship opened me up to the fantasies of working in new places with new people. An interview I did in conjunction with an Egyptian journalist became a turning point in my life as a writer. In short, the fellowship taught me that you can read and watch all you want, but there is no substitute for just being there.

Justine Calma, justice fellow at Grist

Global Health Reporting Fellow

My Global Health reporting fellowship gave me a firm grounding in global health, which will help me move forward in my career as a health reporter. I also got strong clips to add to my portfolio. The other great thing about my experience was the organization’s trust and support of young, emerging journalist like myself. GroundTruth gave me my first assignment reporting abroad, and it has been the best professional experience I have had.

Indrani Basu, news editor at Huffington Post India

Global Health Reporting Fellow

The GroundTruth fellowship was wonderful training for me. My reporting experience had been largely limited to local stories, and I learnt how to expand to report and write for a global audience, and interview sources in far-flung locations like Gaza, West Africa, and Europe.

Juliana Schatz, Livingston Award-nominated freelance documentarian

Egypt Reporting Fellow

GroundTruth taught me the value of being physically and emotionally present as a journalist. At a time when desk reporting and news aggregation were becoming the norm for many organizations, we learned to go out to the scene of a story and be curious. To see, to hear, to smell, and to taste everything around us. I can think of no better way to report and convey the truth of a place to an audience.

Velma Šarić, founder and executive director of the Post-Conflict Research Center

“Generation TBD” Reporting Fellow

Working on The GroundTruth Project was for me both an incredible honor and an opportunity for professional development. Through this fellowship, I gained priceless experience and knowledge of new, deeper researching and reporting methods.