It Takes A Journalist like Jim Hoge
Empowering the next generation of news leaders
Throughout his exceptional career, James F. Hoge Jr. has embodied the best of journalism. He was a
venerated leader as editor of the Chicago Sun-Times and publisher of the New York Daily News. In
his 18 years as editor of Foreign Affairs, Jim demonstrated unmatched excellence in fact-based
journalism and offered deep analysis of pressing global issues.
To carry forward Jim’s legacy and his passion for journalistic integrity, we are launching The Jim
Hoge Legacy Fund. “It is an honor to recognize Jim, one of the most influential editors of our time,”
says Jason Wright, ICFJ Development Chair. The immediate-use Fund will support rising news
leaders at home and abroad, helping the next generation of journalists produce high-quality news and
advance their careers.
The Jim Hoge Legacy Fund will be a pillar of our It Takes a Journalist campaign and its three
strategic initiatives – Serve, Innovate, and Thrive.
ICFJ is working hard to help our colleagues and their news organizations meet the obstacles ahead
and follow in the footsteps of pioneers like Jim Hoge.
fellowship program to honor Jim Hoge
Jim Hoge Reporting Fellows
Jim has been a long-standing supporter of young reporters. This Fund will advance Jim’s efforts to support journalists covering the critical issues of our time. The Jim Hoge Reporting Fellows will receive dedicated assistance.
- The Fund will provide 3-month reporting fellowships for up-and-coming reporters.
- Fellows will receive support and training to help them safely and effectively report on pressing global issues, from disinformation to climate change to rising authoritarianism.
- They will be selected from ICFJ’s vast network of U.S. and international journalists and will demonstrate dedication to the same high standards that Jim built his career around.
Pictured at left: Jim Hoge with two of the 2023 Hoge Reporting Fellows.
Contribute to the Jim Hoge Legacy Fund
DONATEMais Katt
Mais Katt is a Syrian-Dutch journalist who has closely covered the Syrian war for 10 years. Her podcast, The Syria Trials, illustrates the scattered landscape of justice and accountability efforts for the crimes committed by the regime in Syria. An experienced media trainer and business developer, she has conducted training programs for hundreds of journalists in the MENA region. She has developed a reputation as a fresh and inspiring voice in her area of expertise.
As a Hoge Reporting Fellow, Mais will delve into the impact of the Syrian war on women. Reframing women as champions for peace, justice, and freedom, this project will use multimedia long-form storytelling to highlight the experiences, since the start of the Arab Spring, of three women inside Syria and abroad.
Bárbara Poerner
Bárbara Poerner is a freelance journalist based in Florianópolis and São Paulo, Brazil. She splits her time between nonprofit work and freelance reporting. Initially focusing on the social and environmental impact of the fashion industry, she has established herself as an adept reporter at the intersection of women’s rights, climate justice and cultural issues.
Bárbara will pursue a four-part documentary series in Spanish and Portuguese as a Hoge Reporting Fellow that will explore how South America’s energy projects, whether renewable or not, can have disastrous consequences for indigenous communities. The final episode will focus on recommendations for a fair, free, and community-oriented energy transition.
Philip Obaji
Philip Obaji is a journalist based in Nigeria known for his reporting on jihadism, human trafficking, human rights and, more recently, the activities of Russia’s Wagner Group in Africa. He won the Future Awards Africa Prize in Education in 2014, and the Future Awards Africa Prize for Young Person of the Year in 2015. Obaji was listed among the 100 most influential people in Nigeria in 2016 by Nigerian news website YNaija. In 2021, he received the third prize in the Outstanding Contribution to Peace category at the Fetisov Journalism Awards.
Philip will continue investigating and will produce an in-depth examination into The Wagner Group’s operations in Africa by speaking with local community members, survivors of massacres and identifying individual operatives as a Hoge Reporting Fellow.
