About This Project
News21 fellows at Columbia – ten 2006 graduates of its Graduate School of Journalism and one from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government – have spent months, in teams and alone, following the Department of Homeland Security. We’ve used new, computer-assisted reporting techniques to assess information in federal databases and we’ve used old-fashioned reporting techniques to interview dozens of current and former DHS officials, industry executives, academics, advocates, lobbyists and individuals affected by homeland security issues. We’ve investigated the department’s management and the operations of many subsidiary agencies, and we’ve scrutinized private-sector companies that are selling homeland security services to the government. What we found was always interesting and frequently unique.
Biographies of News21 Fellows
Stokely Baksh
Baksh is a multimedia journalist from Washington, D.C., who has worked as a national correspondent for the newswire United Press International under the technology and business desks, and reported for the non-profit investigative journalism organization Center for Public Integrity. A recent graduate of Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, she completed an investigative project that explores the profitable business of immigration detention with her colleague Renee Feltz. The investigation won the Melvin Mencher Award for Superior Reporting and the James A. Wechsler Award for National Reporting.
You can visit stokelybaksh.com or Business of Detention at businessofdetention.com.
Biographies of News21 Editors
John Judis
Editorial Coordinator John B. Judis is a senior editor of New Republic, where he has worked since 1984. As a visiting scholar at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Judis wrote The Folly of Empire: What George W. Bush Could Learn from Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
Judis' articles have appeared in American Prospect, New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Washington Monthly, American Enterprise, Mother Jones, and Dissent. He has written five books, including The Emerging Democratic Majority (with Ruy Teixeira), The Parodox of American Democracy, and William F. Buckley: Patron Saint of the Conservatives.
Russell Chun
Russell Chun, Flash and design consultant to Columbia News21, is a freelance scientific art developer and multimedia Flash developer, author, and teacher. He creates visual and interactive educational media and consults and teaches others to use Flash as an effective pedagogical tool.
Russell is an adjunct at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and at City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School of Journalism. He has authored several books on advanced Flash: Flash 5 Advanced, Flash MX Advanced, Flash MX2004 Advanced, Flash 8 Advanced, and Flash CS3 Advanced, all in the VisualQuick Pro Guide series published by Peachpit Press in association with Macromedia/Adobe Press. His books have been translated in multiple languages and sold internationally. He has also written about Flash in magazines such as SBS Digital Design and MacWorld.
Kenan Davis
Kenan Davis is a multimedia journalist whose work has appeared in The Valdosta Daily Times, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, The Village Voice, The Queens Tribune and on WAMC/Northeast Public Radio. He is now a new media fellow at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin
Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, News21 Flash producer, built the Columbia project's home page and its immigration timeline, and provided general assistance to the Columbia fellows.
Ahmed grew up in California, Kuwait, Egypt and Austria. He has most recently worked as a news producer for The New York Times and as a web producer for the PBS international documentary series, Wide Angle. His work has been featured in Frontline/World online, TimeOut, Washington Week and other blogs.
He graduated from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, where he now teaches as an adjunct professor for new media skills. He hopes to one day adopt a dog and produce a feature-length documentary film, but not necessarily on the same day. His family is originally from Palestine.
Duy Linh Tu
Duy Linh Tu, multimedia consultant to Columbia News21, is a multimedia producer, journalist, and educator. He is the co-founder and Creative Director of Resolution Seven, a New York City-based video and DVD production studio. His clients range from non-profit groups to very-much-for-profit corporations. Resolution Seven produces commercials, industrials, and short- and long-form documentaries.
Duy has been a full-time faculty member at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism since 2001, where he coordinates the New Media Program. Duy is a lecturer at MediaBistro, where he conducts seminars on topics such as podcasting and multimedia journalism. Over the past six years, Duy has trained hundreds of journalists, producers, and other content creators interested in learning the tools of multimedia journalism and production.
Duy received his Masters degree in journalism from Columbia University. He is a board member of the New York Film/Video Council.
