The Freedom Forum International Journalists in Residence

Spring 2001

01.22.01

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ARGENTINA: Laura Antún, 30, covers politics and society for Los Andes, a newspaper based in Mendoza, Argentina. Antún also has worked as a reporter and theater critic for other newspapers and magazines in Mendoza and has contributed chapters to two books about her city. Since 1994, she also has taught advanced writing at Juan Agustín Maza University, where she earned her degrees in social communication and publicity.

BANGLADESH: Shakhawat Hossain, 31, is a staff reporter for the daily newspaper Bangladesh Reporter in Dhaka. He covers environmental issues and the current friction between opposing and ruling political parties in Bangladesh. Hossain is currently on the executive committee of the Dhaka Reporters' Unity, an association of 500 newspaper reporters. He received both his bachelor's degree and master's degree in Mass communication and journalism from Dhaka University.

BULGARIA: Polia Alexandrova, 27, is a legal reporter and editor for the Bulgarian News Agency's Paraleli magazine in Sofia, Bulgaria. She also is the Bulgarian correspondent for Transitions Online, a web publication that covers political events in Central and Eastern Europe. Alexandrova also has worked as a producer and reporter for Bulgaria's Radio Varna. She graduated from Economic University in Varna, Bulgaria, with a law degree. In 1996, she completed the Reuters journalism training course in London.

CHINA: Wang Ting, 25, works in The Washington Post's Shanghai bureau in China. Until recently, she worked for Bridge News in Shanghai. She covered daily news, the daily financial market review and corporate finance analysis, both in print and on the Internet. She previously worked as a market and media researcher at Dalian Securities Co. She graduated from Shanghai International Studies University with a bachelor's degree in English language and literature.

CROATIA: Helena Puljiz, 28, is a reporter for Jutarnji List, Croatia's second-largest daily newspaper. She has worked there for eight years, covering politics and the Croatian president's office. She also writes a weekly column on current news events. Puljiz studied Croatian and Slavic languages and literature at Zagreb University.

ECUADOR: Maria Fernanda Egas, 26, writes social, economic and political articles for Ecuador's leading magazine, Vistazo. She previously worked as a reporter for Diario Hoy and a writer for Cosas magazine. In addition, she was assistant producer of a children's program at the television station Ecuavisa. She holds a degree in advertising from the Monica Herreno School of Communication and is studying mass communication at Santiago de Guayaquil Catholic University in Ecuador.

GHANA: Alfred Ogbamey, 26, is the senior staff correspondent and business page editor at The Ghanaian Chronicle, Ghana's leading independent newspaper. Ogbamey began his career in 1996 as a free-lance writer and stringer for a variety of newspapers, including The Weekend Chronicle and Second Image. He also has written scripts for an evening entertainment program at a local FM radio station, Groove 106.3. He graduated from the Ghana Institute of Journalism in 1998.

HAITI: Adler Aristilde, 31, is a writer and reporter for Radio Solidarite, a private radio station in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He also works for the Haitian Press Agency. He frequently lectures on media topics in his country. Aristilde is currently studying management at the State University of Haiti. He also has studied journalism and broadcasting both in Jamaica and France.

KENYA: Churchill Otieno Auma, 27, covers politics, economics, health and environment for the Nation Media Group, which includes the Daily Nation newspaper, in Kisimu, Kenya. He also serves as assistant secretary of the West Kenya Press Club. He was a founder of the Health & Environment Media Network and has contributed papers and reports to workshops on the media's role in covering HIV and AIDS in Kenya. Otieno Auma received his diploma in journalism in 1996 at the Nyegezi Social Training Institute in Mwanza.

MALAYSIA: Jenny Ng, 27, is a financial reporter at Personal Money magazine, a monthly business magazine in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Previously, she worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting as a consultant. Ng has a bachelor's degree in accounting from University of Malaysia.

MOLDOVA: Snejana Dimitrova, 25, is a news reporter for the TV company MIR in Chisinau, Moldova. She reports on political and military issues such as Parliament, elections and Russian affairs. She began her career at the newspaper Moldavian Youth, but moved into television with the encouragement of a teacher at the Moldovian State University. She has studied with the Reuters foundation and completed an extended course in broadcast journalism in Kiev, Ukraine.

ZAMBIA: Reuben Phiri, 35, is chief reporter at The Post, a privately owned newspaper in Lusaka, Zambia, having started his career as a journalist five years ago. He covers local and international politics.