For Immediate Release Contact:
Barbara K. Laskin/ Doug Stone
April 18, 2005 (651) 696-6203

World Press Institute Announces 2005 Fellows
Award-winning print, news media reporters among 10 international journalists

St. Paul, Minn. - The winner of the 2004 Amnesty International Global Award for Human Rights Journalism and the recipient of the 2003 NetMedia European Online Journalism Award for Environment Reporting are among the 10 international journalists named 2005 fellows of the World Press Institute (WPI), located at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn.

The Nigerian secretary of the West Africa Media Network, a network television news director from China, editors from Austria and Peru, and reporters from Nepal, Argentina, the Philippines and Bulgaria complete WPI's 2005 class.

WPI fellows spend four months together immersed in the journalism ethics and culture of the United States. They also study U.S. politics, business and civil society through a demanding schedule of study, travel and interviews throughout the country. This year's program, which begins Aug. 1 and concludes Nov. 18, will focus special attention on transparency reporting, diversity and health care.

Raphael Gomide, an investigative reporter with O Dia, a popular daily newspaper in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, won the 2004 Amnesty International award for "Slaves of the 21st Century," a series of articles on modern-day slavery in Brazil.

"Social injustice is still a menace to the modest advances of democracy" in Latin America, he said. "The media have a fundamental role (to play), pointing out human rights violations and monitoring government. We face strong political pressure, though. Violence is also a menace to the freedom of expression."

Romanian journalist Daniela Tuchel edits foreign news at Libertatea, a daily newspaper in Bucharest. She is also an online correspondent for the London-based Institute for War & Peace Reporting. She won the 2003 NetMedia award for her story on opposition to plans for Romania's biggest-ever foreign investment project, a huge gold mine in Transylvania, published by the institute.

Maureen Chigbo is general editor of Newswatch, a weekly magazine published in Lagos, Nigeria. She has won numerous awards both within and outside Nigeria for her political and business reporting. In addition to her involvement with the West Africa Media Network she is an active member of a Nigerian women's organization focused on developing leadership skills in women journalists and politicians.

Daniel Cavero is editor of the world section of Peru.21, a small, serious tabloid that has become one of the most widely read dailies in Peru since the newspaper was founded in 2002. Austrian Matthias Bernold covers legal affairs at Wiener Zeitung in Vienna, one of the oldest newspapers in the world, founded in 1703.

Tang Ju serves as news director, reporter and anchor in the international service of Dragon TV in Shanghai, which has an audience of 500 million viewers dispersed across China, Macao, Australia, North America and Japan. She is also a frequent contributor to CNN World Report.

Raj Kumar, a business writer with the daily Rising Nepal in Katmandu, is only the second journalist from Nepal to have been awarded a WPI fellowship. Bulgarian Teodora Vasileva, also a business reporter, works at the Capital Weekly in Sofia, the most respected economic weekly in Bulgaria.

Anne Jambora covers "life beyond the front page" as a reporter for the Philippine Daily Inquirer in Makati City. Pilar Conci started her career as a sports reporter at La Nación in Buenos Aires, where she now writes and edits international news.

"These 10 international journalists have as much to offer us as we do them. And they are united by two strong bonds: an interest in doing better journalism and a genuine desire to see for themselves, through the lens of the First Amendment, how the world's oldest democracy works." said WPI Executive Director John Ullmann.

WPI's 2005 fellows are:

" Argentina - Ms. Pilar Conci, reporter, La Nación, Buenos Aires
" Austria - Mr. Matthias Bernold, editor, Wiener Zeitung, Vienna
" Brazil - Mr. Raphael Gomide, reporter, O Dia, Rio de Janeiro
" Bulgaria - Ms. Teodora Vassileva, reporter, Capital Weekly, Sofia
" China - Ms. Tang Ju, news director, International Service, Dragon TV, Shanghai
" Nepal - Mr. Raj Kumar K.C., reporter, The Rising Nepal, Kathmandu
" Nigeria - Ms. Maureen Chigbo, general editor, Newswatch, Lagos
" Peru - Mr. Daniel Cavero, editor, Peru.21, Lima
" Philippines - Ms. Anne A. Jambora, reporter, Philippine Daily Enquirer, Makati City
" Romania - Ms. Daniela Tuchel, editor, Libertatea, Bucharest

WPI was established at Macalester College in 1961 with initial funding from DeWitt Wallace, a St. Paul native, Macalester alumnus and creator of the Reader's Digest. It is a private, nonprofit, educational organization supported by a wide range of foundations, national and local news organizations, multinational U.S. corporations, individuals and the college. WPI has nearly 500 alumni in 95 countries.

Macalester College, founded in 1874, is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 1,845 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, diversity, and service to society.

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