Princeton University’s Program in Journalism has named eight distinguished journalists as visiting professors for the 2019–2020 academic year. The Humanities Council, which is home to the Program in Journalism, will host this group of renowned journalists, each of whom will teach an intensive seminar and participate in the life of the University over the course of a semester.
The visiting professors will join the program’s three Ferris Professors of Journalism in Residence: Joe Stephens, director of the Program in Journalism and former longtime investigative projects reporter for The Washington Post; John McPhee, a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1965 and a Pulitzer Prize-winning author of more than 30 books; and Deborah Amos, an award-winning international correspondent for National Public Radio.
“Next year’s visiting professors are some of the most admired and accomplished journalists in the world,” Stephens said. “We look forward to learning from them, and to their contributions to a rich tradition of journalism excellence at the University.”
The visiting professors for Fall 2019:
—Bill Keller is a former executive editor of The New York Times and the founding editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project. In The McGraw Seminar of Writing: The Craft of Profile-Writing, he will teach students how successful profilers produce this particularly versatile and particularly challenging journalistic form.
—Joe Richman is the founder and executive producer of Radio Diaries whose work is regularly heard on NPR. His course, Audio Journalism: The Art of Narrative Storytelling for Radio and Podcasts, will include a fall-break trip to Alabama and Mississippi to capture and tell stories of the Civil Rights Movement.
—Errin Whack is The Associated Press’s award-winning national writer on race and ethnicity. Her course on The Media and America: Black Women and the 2020 Election will examine how the press reports on the political priorities of this consequential constituency in the lead up to a presidential election.
—Kushanava Choudhury is a veteran journalist and author whose work has appeared in leading newspapers in the U.S. and India. He will teach The Literature of Fact: The Urban World, which will explore the social and cultural dimensions of the modern urban form through writing about cities.
In Spring 2020 the Program in Journalism will welcome the rest of the 2019–2020 roster:
—Carol Giacomo is a member of The New York Times’ editorial board and writes on foreign and defense policy. Her course, on shaping the debate on international issues, will incorporate a spring-break trip to Hungary to report on the threat to democracy posed by the forces of illiberalism, xenophobia, and hate.
—Kimbriell Kelly is a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor in the Los Angeles Times’ Washington bureau with more than 20 years’ experience working as a journalist. She will teach a seminar on investigative journalism with a focus on public-records accountability reporting in an age of disinformation.
—Jon Gertner is a bestselling author, editor, and journalist known for his writing on science, technology, innovation, business, and society. In his course, on covering new technology and climate science, students will learn how to cut through hype and craft narratives that make sense of new ideas.
—Suzy Hansen is an award-winning author and a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine with extensive experience reporting from the Middle East. She will teach a seminar focused on writing about foreign countries and the challenges of being an international correspondent.
The visiting professors’ courses will complement the seminars regularly taught by the program’s professors in residence. Each fall semester, Stephens teaches Investigative Journalism: Accountability Reporting, while Amos teaches International News: Migration Reporting, which includes a fall-break reporting trip to Canada. In the spring, Stephens teaches The Media in America: What to Read and Believe in the Digital Age, while McPhee continues to offer his legendary course, Creative Non-Fiction, which is open only to sophomores.
Princeton’s journalism seminars were inaugurated in 1957 by a bequest from former New York Herald journalist Edwin F. Ferris. They have since become one of the nation’s most respected programs of journalism courses—as well as some of the University’s most highly rated courses. Gifts from other generous alumni and their families have expanded the program’s offerings.
Next year’s visiting journalists will be introduced to members of the University humanities community on Monday, September 9, 2019, at a Welcome Reception following the 13th Annual Humanities Colloquium.
