The Poynter Institute is pleased to announce the 16 journalists selected for the prestigious Power of Diverse Voices: Writing Workshop for Journalists of Color, which was launched in 2017 and is one of Poynter’s most competitive programs.
These journalists will meet Nov. 12-15 at Poynter in St. Petersburg, Florida, for four days of one-on-one coaching, small-group instruction and dedicated writing time.
The program is led by longtime Poynter adjunct Tom Huang, Dallas Morning News assistant managing editor for journalism initiatives. The goal of the seminar is to assist journalists of color in the process of finding and refining their voices while also building their skill at writing opinion pieces and personal essays.
“The Power of Diverse Voices seminar is my way of helping writers from all sorts of backgrounds to dig deeply and do the hard work of telling honest stories from perspectives only they have,” Huang said. “And I’m encouraging them to find their voice. And encouraging them to use their voice.”
Many award-winning essays, podcasts and other work originated or developed during this workshop. Recently, Harry Mok, assistant opinion editor at the San Francisco Chronicle and a graduate of Poynter’s 2021 workshop, earned AAJA’s Excellence in Commentary for his piece about belonging as an “Asian kid in a California farm town.” Ismael Pérez, another 2021 alum and Chicago Sun-Times editorial board member, won first place this year in the Society of Features Journalism General Commentary Portfolio category for his column “Living with an addict during the pandemic.”
Working with Huang will be several veteran journalists: Eric Deggans, TV critic, media analyst and guest host for NPR; Fernanda Santos, managing editor of The 19th News and Diverse Voices workshop alum; and Aisha Sultan, home and family editor and columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“In compelling us to write our personal stories, Poynter’s Power of Diverse Voices workshop corrected the lie that our opinions have no place in the newsroom,” said Juan Michael Porter II, senior editor at The Body and a recent program participant. “Without Poynter, I’d never have had the courage to insert myself into the reporting process — even though it was my story to tell.”
The newest cohort of the upcoming Power of Diverse Voices workshop are:
- Denise Amos, deputy editor and columnist, CalMatters
- Alvin Buyinza, reporter, MassLive
- Adriana Cardona, immigration journalist, WBEZ
- Ashleé Clark, manager for growth, American Journalism Project
- Mirtha Donastorg, economy and business reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Hoda Emam, freelance journalist and journalism lecturer, University of North Texas
- Aaron Foley, news editor for the New York Amsterdam News and managing editor of Model D
- Auditi Guha, Northwest Vermont and equity reporter and editor, VTDigger
- Amani Hamed, freelance journalist and community engagement coordinator for The Maynard Institute for Journalism Education
- Kalpana Jain, senior editor , The Conversation US
- Taylor Jung, social justice reporter, NJ Spotlight News/NJ PBS
- Cecilia Lei, host and producer, KQED
- Elvia Malagon, reporter, Chicago Sun-Times
- Macollvie Neel, special projects and investigations editor, The Haitian Times
- DeAsia Paige, culture reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Patricio Robayo, content producer and news director, WJFF Radio Catskill
Funding for Power of Diverse Voices comes from an endowment from the Association of Opinion Journalists, which was merged with what is now the News Leaders Association in 2016. Funding is also provided by the Gill Foundation.
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