Election ‘08: Covering Politics in CyberspaceAgenda | Speakers | Fellows | Resources | BlogFellowsDrew Clark is senior fellow and project manager at the Center for Public Integrity, and has headed the Center's "Well Connected" Project on telecommunications and the media since August 2006. He directed the Center's re-launch last fall of Media Tracker, a free Internet database that tracks ownership, political contributions and lobbying expenditures of almost 300 telecom, media and technology companies. Clark blogs on www.drewclark.com, and at the Center's Telecom Watch Web log. He writes a column, Wired in Washington, about digital convergence, as well as the weekly Letter from Washington for GigaOM, one of the top 50 blogs as ranked by Technorati. Previously, Clark was senior writer for National Journal Group's Technology Daily, senior editor of National Journal's Insider Update: The Telecom Act, and contributing editor for Congress Daily. Clark has spoken on technology trends at MIT's "Beyond Broadcast," the Consumer Electronics Show, the Higher Education Technology Alliance, the National Conference on Media Reform and the Technology Policy Summit. His career includes stints at the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Mail and Guardian of Johannesburg, South Africa. Clark graduated with honors from Swarthmore College, and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Drew Clark is a Senior Fellow at this seminar. Email: Michael Cottman is senior correspondent at Reach Media Inc.'s BlackAmericaWeb.com with responsibility as the chief political reporter. Cottman also lectures in the department of journalism, Howard University, Washington, D.C. After an internship at The Atlanta Constitution, he reported for the Miami Herald, New York Newsday, where he shared a Pulitzer Prize with other staff reporters in 1992, and The Washington Post. The veteran journalist is author of three books: "The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie," "Million Man March" and "The Family of Black America." Cottman has been honored by the National Association of Black Journalists, New York Association of Black Journalists, New York NAACP and National Association of Black Scuba Divers, among others, including Clark Atlanta University where he earned a journalism degree. Email: Amy Cox was recently promoted to assignment producer in special projects at CNN.com, and has also been associate producer, health section producer and special reports producer during more than six years at CNN.com. Cox produced a Hurricane Katrina special report that was part of CNN's Peabody Award-winning coverage. She began her career as a copy editor at the Marietta Daily Journal after receiving a journalism degree from the University of Georgia. Email: Jason Embry covers the Texas Legislature for the Austin American-Statesman, reporting through Web blogs, podcasts and video as well as print. Named the 2005 Top Newcomer of the Texas Capitol press corps by "Capitol Insider" newsletter, Embry won first place for a feature series in 2003 from the Associated Press Managing Editors, and the Above and Beyond Award at the Waco Tribune-Herald where he worked earlier. His first reporting job was at the Killen Daily Herald. Embry holds a Bachelor of Arts from Southwestern University where he graduated with honors in communication and won the Laura Kuykendall Award for outstanding graduate in communication. Email: Dave Herman is the daily editor of the MSN.com homepage, after stints as copy/quality chief and producer for MSN.com. Herman served as cover producer for Olympics.com/NBC Olympics.com from September 2001 through February 2002, following experience at MSNBC.com as sports producer and news producer. Earlier he was an editor at Sammamish (WA) Review and reporter at Issaquah (WA) Press, where he won a Society of Professional Journalists first place award for education reporting for Pacific Northwest Region, and sports writer and assistant sports editor at Coeur d'Alene Press. Herman has a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Gonzaga University. Email: Laura Hertzfeld is senior editor for Yahoo! News Full Coverage, collecting and reporting multiple stories and sources for each major news issue. Hertzfeld worked previously as associate editor and reporter for Platts, a McGraw-Hill portfolio of energy business media, after internships at Bridge News and Columbia Journalism Review. In 2000, she received an Olshansky grant to cover energy news in Moscow. Hertzfeld holds a B.A. in history from Barnard College, Columbia University. Email: Lee Horwich is senior assignment editor for USA TODAY's Washington desk, serving as national editor for transportation, political editor, and a lead editor in redesigning print and online politics coverage for the 2008 election cycle. Horwich's work on "Four Hours of Fear," an examination of how the U.S. government cleared the skies after the Sept. 11 attacks, won the first Associated Press Managing Editors' Convergence Award for the best story told both in print and online. His previous positions included editor at Roll Call, regional editor and national editor at the Baltimore Sun, and regional editor and deputy city editor at the Concord Monitor. Horwich started his career as a staff writer for Valley News. He received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Master of Education in educational policy from the University of Illinois. Email: Stephen Keating is online political editor of The Denver Post, responsible for launching and editing a new Web site dedicated to the newspaper's political coverage. He is also contributing to multimedia real-time coverage of the trial of former Qwest chief executive Joe Nacchio. Before the political editor assignment, Keating was business editor at The Post, where his staff won best business story awards from Colorado AP Editors and Reporters, Colorado Press Association, Colorado Association of Black Journalists and Colorado Society of Professional Journalists. He had been a business reporter at the newspaper earlier, winning a Colorado SPJ citation for investigative reporting, but took a break to produce a television show pilot and develop a Web site for the Privacy Foundation. Keating won a Colorado Book Award for his non-fiction "Cutthroat." His first journalism job was reporter for Gloucester County Times. Keating holds a Bachelor of Science in newspaper journalism and marketing management from Syracuse University. Email: Ashley Kindergan covers Passaic (NJ) County as county reporter for the Herald News, after starting at the newspaper as city desk reporter. Kindergan interned at the Gazette and the Berkshire Eagle. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Williams College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Kindergan received a master's degree from Columbia University School of Journalism, and won the Richard T. Baker Award for outstanding performance in a newspaper workshop there. Email: Dee Lane is politics editor for The (Portland, OR) Oregonian where she has initiated online coverage of elections and the state legislature. The veteran Oregonian staff member has also served as Portland editor, assistance Portland editor and reporter in her 25 years at the newspaper. Lane was a correspondent for the Oregon Journal before joining the Oregonian. She has won numerous Society of Professional Journalists regional awards and Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association awards for spot news, government reporting and investigative reporting, as well as the C.B. Blethen Memorial Award for investigative reporting and the Tom Lawson McCall Award for outstanding contributions to freedom of information. Lane holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Emory University and Master of Arts in journalism from University of Georgia. Email: Jason Manning is the politics editor for washingtonpost.com. Working along side a team of talented writers, designers, producers, videographers, and developers, Manning coordinates overall political coverage for the site. Prior to coming to washingtonpost.com, Manning was the local-national editor at PBS NewsHour Online, where he managed coverage of the 2002 and 2004 elections. Earlier, at U.S. News & World Report, he was part of investigations on topics such as air travel security issues immediately after Sept. 11 and low graduation rates of college athletes. He has also worked for AOL. Manning holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Florida and is currently a graduate student in the history program at George Mason University. Jason Manning is a Senior Fellow at this seminar. Email: Christopher McNary has risen from weekend news editor, night news editor, weekend deputy editor and news editor to senior editor at DallasNews.com, the online site for the Dallas Morning News. McNary also has worked as editor and producer at the affiliated television station WFAA-TV. As senior editor, Metro, he serves as liaison between the Metro and Op/Ed departments and the Web site. Before joining the Dallas news organization, McNary was a writer and producer for Michigan Live Inc. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in news/editorial journalism. Email: Olympia Meola is a reporter and multimedia team member charged with helping her Richmond (VA) Times-Dispatch political team improve its live Webcast from the state legislature, while finding ways to create new online political content. Prior to her two years with the Richmond newspaper, Meola was a reporter for the Daily Progress where she won a Virginia Press Association award for spot news coverage. She is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in mass communications. Email: Rob Merrill is senior Web editor for NBC Nightly News at MSNBC.com where he has worked since 2000. Earlier, Merrill was an anchor and producer at KGWN-TV, Cheyenne, Wyoming and futures editor for NBC News. Phi Beta Kappa at Middlebury College, he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English and German. Rachel Nixon is deputy world editor of the internationally acclaimed BBCNews.com. In this role, she is tasked with bringing the BBC's TV, radio and online news operations together to deliver big stories across multiple and emerging platforms. In her more than eight years as a member of the Web site team, Nixon has successfully managed its coverage of key global stories such as the war in Iraq, the U.S. presidential elections of 2004 and the mid-term elections of 2006. She also reported from Bali on the aftermath of the 2002 bombing and spent two years as the site's home page editor. In February 2007 Nixon was named BBC World Service Editor of the Year for her pioneering work on multi-platform projects. She holds a first-class Bachelor of Arts in modern languages from the University of Oxford. Rachel Nixon is a Senior Fellow at this seminar. Mike Noe is interactive media editor at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, CO, where he directed the development of a "Ballot Builder" tool letting users compare their views with those of candidates and issues appearing on the ballot in their area. Noe joined the Rocky Mountain News as online content supervisor. Previously, he was interactive reporter at the (Colorado Springs, CO) Gazette, and police, city hall and politics reporter at the Lima News. Noe's Web site work has been honored by Colorado AP for first place in online special package for "The Border Within" and "Early Exit," and for best Web site three years in a row. The Colorado Press Association also gave multiple first place Best of Colorado awards for the site. A Noe-guided report, "Final Salute," won honors from Sigma Delta Chi and Pictures of the Year International. Noe has a news-editorial journalism degree from University of Colorado, Boulder. Email: Michael Owen is associate news producer/online for the Los Angeles Times. Hired to help create a destination and content covering state politics for the 2006 mid-term election, Owen has since used his experience to take a lead in editing the home page to attract a daily online audience. He gained familiarity with the political world as managing editor of the Huffington Post before joining The Times. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Pomona College, where he was managing editor of the Student Life. Email: Aron Pilhofer is projects editor, computer-assisted reporting at the New York Times, and has spent most of his career in investigative reporting through use of technological tools. During three years as database editor at the Center for Public Integrity, projects in which he was involved won the 2004 Polk Award, the 2004 award for online investigative reporting from the Society for Professional Journalists, the 2004 online public service journalism award from SPJ, the 2004 online in-depth reporting award from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, and the 2004 online reporting award from Investigative Reporters and Editors. Earlier, Pilhofer was director, campaign finance information center at Investigative Reporters and Editors; computer-assisted reporting coordinator, political reporter and projects reporter at Gannett Newspapers; and municipal reporter at the Daily Record. He is a graduate of University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, where he majored in American history, quantitative methods. Aron Pilhofer is a Senior Fellow at this seminar. Email: Beth Reinhard is a political writer at the Miami (FL) Herald, and the lead writer of Naked Politics: The Raw Truth About Power and Ambition in Florida, the newspaper's political blog. According to the managing editor for multimedia, Naked Politics is the third-most popular of the Herald's Web logs, behind Dave Barry and the Miami Dolphins. Reinhard represents the Herald in local public affairs television, works with the local National Public Radio-affilated radio news operation and will lead the Herald's 2008 campaign coverage. She won the 2006 Florida Bar Media Award, 2006 Florida Society of Newspaper Editors second place for investigative reporting, 2006 Sunshine State first place award for state and federal political and government reporting, and 2005 Sunshine State second place award for state and federal political and government reporting. Previous reporting jobs included urban education reporter at Education Week, business reporter and general assignment reporter at the Palm Beach Post and municipal reporter at the Home News. Reinhard holds a bachelor's degree in English from University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. Email: Cheryl Segal is political team leader at the Tampa Tribune, aiming to strengthen the Web presence of independent media as candidates turn more to campaigning online. Formerly, Segal was online producer and editor for ajc.com and assistant metro editor at the Atlanta (GA) Journal-Constitution, family and community team leader and assistant metro editor at the (Newport News) Daily Press, and city editor, assistant city editor and editorial writer at Boca Raton News. Her many awards include first place in public service from Georgia Associated Press Association, first place in community service from Georgia Press Association Better Newspaper Contest, first place in business writing from Georgia Press Association, first place in combination pictures and story from Virginia Press Association, American Cancer Society Virginia Media Award and Excel Award for News Features from Hampton Roads Black Media Professionals. Segal has a degree in communication-print journalism sequence as well as a graduate degree in journalism and public affairs from the American University, Washington, D.C. Email: James Smith was recently named national political editor of the Boston Globe, having joined the newspaper as foreign editor. In coordinating the newspaper's coverage of the 2008 election, he intends to devote at least half his energy to online coverage on http://www.boston.com, the Globe's Web site. Smith's wide-ranging experience has included stints as Mexico City bureau chief and Mexico City correspondent for the Los Angeles Times; communications consultant for the Secretariat for Safety and Security, South Africa; editor of Business Report for Independent Newspapers, Johannesburg, South Africa; and communication manager and industrial relations director for PG Bison Ltd. He was honored by Associated Press Managing Editors for sustained excellence in reporting for South Africa coverage, and as Boston Globe foreign editor, oversaw coverage that won a Polk Award, APME International Perspective Award, Global Health Council Excellence in Media Award, InterAction Excellence in International Reporting Award and James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism from City University of New York. Holder of a Bachelor of Arts with distinction in history from Yale University, Smith earned a Master in Business Administration from University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Email: Carl Sullivan is news editor for Newsweek.com and senior writer for Newsweek magazine. While his focus is political coverage, Sullivan proved his range of leadership skills when Hurricane Katrina hit while many staffers were on vacation. He took charge, producing coverage that won awards such as MIN Best of the Web for special online coverage of gulf hurricanes in 2005. Sullivan was also part of the Newsweek team winning an EPpy Award for best national magazine Web site and made finalist for the National Magazine Award for general excellence online, both in 2006. Earlier as online editor for Editor & Publisher and editor of mediainfo.com print magazine, Sullivan won three Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards for reporting and writing. Other stops in his journalism career included managing editor, senior writer and Washington editor of Financial Planning magazine; Washington editor for Bank Investment Marketing magazine, and obituary writer and community reporter for the Greenville (S.C.) News. Sullivan graduated from Furman University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and earned a Master of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University. Email: John Whitesides is U.S. political correspondent for Reuters, recently including commentary and poll analysis for Reuters.com. Earlier at Reuters, he was congressional correspondent, Washington editor, and Hong Kong editor and correspondent. Whitesides began his reporting career at the Omaha World Herald where he was named Nebraska Journalist of the Year in 1983, followed by five years as reporter at the Hartford Courant. He is a graduate of Kansas University. Email: Martin Wisckol is politics reporter for the Orange County (CA) Register where he created Total Buzz, the Register's full-time political Web log, and is its most frequent contributor. He is planning a political site, Buzzopedia, conceived as a Wiki-style collaboration among academic experts, historians, politicos, journalists and, eventually, Orange County readers. Before joining the Register, Wisckol covered politics for the (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Sun-Sentinel, where he was the Miami bureau local government reporter; the Florida Times-Union, as Jacksonville City Hall reporter and projects reporter; the (Detroit, MI) Metro Times, as investigative reporter; and the (Escondido, CA) Times Advocate, where he was San Diego County government reporter and Hispanic affairs reporter. His work in Florida led to a public service award from Florida Society of Newspaper Editors and awards for investigative reporting, governmental writing and reporting from Southern Journalism Awards, Florida Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists and Folio Weekly Readers' Poll. Wisckol holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from San Diego State University. Email: |
Copyright 2006 Knight Digital Media Center
