Of peacebuilding, debt relief, and other professional fun

It’s been quiet here lately, as I work too much and then sleep it off.  But here’s what’s been going on:

I have a lengthy feature article on the UN Peacebuilding Commission in the Christian Science Monitor magazine.  This is one of the pieces that comes out of my three-month, four-country reporting trek last summer for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Over on the Pulitzer pages, you’ll also (soon!) find a series of blog posts that augment the Monitor article, including photo slideshow of Guinea Bissau, multimedia stories of two young Bissau-Guinean entrepreneurs making their way in a country without much formal economy, and some pictures and sound from Sierra Leone.

I’ve got a slew of other work on various people’s desks, including a radio feature which is among my most favorite stories in a long time. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, I’m honored to be a finalist for this year’s Mirror Awards, for media coverage/criticism leveled with the public’s benefit in mind. I’m a finalist for Best Digital Media Commentary, for a series of three blog posts covering rape. I’m humbled to be among such good company. Their ideas will make journalism better, and best of all, reading their stuff is free.  (Eh, give or take your NYT counter this month.)

I’m also delighted that “The African Divide,” my Christian Science Monitor cover story on the role of land in conflict on the continent, won the American Society of Journalists and Authors award for best reporting on a significant topic.  It’s always a great vote of confidence when your professional peers judge your work worthy of note. Even better — I shared this year’s award with Douglas Fox, for his Christian Science Monitor cover story on energy. So really, I think the award just means the Christian Science Monitor kicks some serious butt.

In a few weeks, I’ll take up a new project, as the second recipient of The Reporting Award at New York University’s Carter Journalism Institute. I’m thrilled to be working with the Institute and very grateful for their support in a time when resources for journalism are dwindling. I’ll be doing some writing about vulture funds, debt relief and other dramas of the global economy. (If you know anything about these things, please drop me a line.)

And in June, I’ll be presenting at the annual Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum.  This year’s forum is on “Human Rights in a Globalized World: Challenges for the Media.”  I’ll be part of a panel about covering human rights without infringing on the rights of sources and subjects, convened by the European arm of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. If you’re in Germany, come say hi.