Three men were acquitted of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, Russian journalist and winner of an IWMF Courage Award in 2002.  Best known for her stories about the war in Chechnya, Politkovskaya was found shot in her Moscow apartment in 2006.  Sources believe she was murdered because her investigations uncovered information that threatened influential figures within Russia.  A fourth man was also tied to the defendants, but not to the murder.  Read the article in the New York Times.

For immediate releaseFebruary 23, 2009 For more information:  In Johannesburg, South Africa:Fikile Nkambule+27 11 341 0767 fnkambule@frayintermedia.c...

Miriam Zimba is the managing editor of The Times of Zambia. She is a participant in the IWMF initiative Reporting on Women in Agriculture: Africa, and her newsroom is a Center of Excellence.

For immediate releaseFebruary 5, 2009 For more information, contact:Lindsey Wray(202) 496-1992LWray@iwmf.org International Women’s Media Foundation ...

The International Women’s Media Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2009-10 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship, which is open to women journalists whose focus is human rights and social justice.

Named for the 1998 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award winner and Boston Globe correspondent who was killed in Iraq in May 2003, the fellowship allows one woman journalist to spend an academic year in a tailored program with access to Boston-area universities as well as the Boston Globe and New York Times. 

Applications will be accepted until April 15, 2009, and the fellowship will run from September 2009 – May 2010.

• Read the press release.
• Learn more about the fellowship.
• Click here to apply.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 2, 2009 For more information:Lindsey Wray(202) 496-1992LWray@iwmf.org IWMF Accepting Applications for Elizabeth Neuffe...

The Washington Post named its first female managing editor on Jan. 13. Elizabeth Spayd, who will oversee the hard-news sections of the newspaper, said she hopes to increase the Post's appeal to female readers. The Post also named Raju Narisetti the newspaper's first minority to reach the second-highest rank at the Post. He will oversee the features sections of the newspaper. Read the article in The Washington Post.

Lydia Cacho, a Mexican journalist who received a 2007 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award, just published a new book. Entitled Con Mi Hij@ No (Not With My Child), Cacho's book is a manual for parents to help them recognize if their children are being abused and, if so, what they can do about it.  The book grew out of Cacho's investigative reporting. Read more about Cacho and her book.

Uma Singh, a journalist and human rights activist in Nepal, was attacked and murdered by a group of men on Jan. 11. Singh, 26, worked for Janakpur Today and Radio Today FM. Read the BBC article or the RSF alert about Singh.

The National Association of Black Journalists has announced professional scholarships for journalists to attend the NABJ Conference on Health Disparities, to be held Jan. 30-31 in Atlanta. The conference focuses is on the health of the black community and empowering journalists to better reach their audiences about the health issues that plague African Americans. Scholarship deadline is Jan. 16. Visit the NABJ Web site for details.

The Kaiser Media Fellowships in Health program is an opportunity for print, broadcast and online journalists to pursue an area of interest in U.S. health policy issues. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or work for an accredited U.S. media organization. Deadline is March 3. Visit the KFF Web site for details.

The Diversity Fellowships in Environmental Reporting, a program of the Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, is a fellowship program that provides traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic minority journalists an opportunity to learn basic science, gain environmental research and reporting skills and apply themselves in a related reporting assignment. Visit the Metcalf Web site for more information. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that Iraq was the deadliest country for journalists for the sixth consecutive year. Worldwide, more than 40 journalists were killed in 2008 in direct connection to their work. Read more in CPJ’s end-of-year analysis.

Journalist Hadeel Emad was shot Jan. 2 in Baghdad. She works as a producer for Beladi TV. The incident occurred at a checkpoint jointly manned by US soldiers and Iraqi police. Reporters Without Borders called on the U.S. military to discipline the U.S. soldiers who shot Emad. Read the RSF alert.

Carol Jenkins, president of the Women’s Media Center, received the North Star News Prize for 2009. The prize recognizes the achievements of journalists of color who have made a significant contribution to the public's understanding of the struggle for social justice. Jenkins spent three decades as an anchor, correspondent and show host in New York City, mostly for NBC's flagship local station. Read more on the WMC Web site.