In March, the Stigler Center will welcome eight world-class journalists from across the globe for an intensive 12-week program of professional development at Chicago Booth.
Launched in March 2017, the Stigler Center’s Journalists in Residence (JIR) Program provides a transformative learning experience for print and broadcast journalists from around the world. It aims to shape the next generation of leaders in political economy reporting.
The program will take place over approximately 12 weeks at the University of Chicago’s Hyde Park campus, during which selected participants will audit classes, participate in events, collaborate with peers, and socialize with the university’s greatest scholars.
Hamza Azhar Salam (Pakistan) – The Pakistan Daily
Hamza Azhar Salam is a Pakistani investigative journalist and founder of The Pakistan Daily. His corruption investigations on Bahria Town have drawn support from UN Special Rapporteurs and international press freedom organizations. His reporting and analysis have appeared in BBC Urdu, Sky News, France 24, and Haaretz. He holds an MA in Interactive Journalism from City University London. Hamza has extensively reported on Pakistan’s relations with Azerbaijan and Israel and is increasingly covering the impact of AI on journalism.
Lía Barrios (Paraguay) – Paraguay Data
Lía Barrios is Paraguay’s first data journalist. She is the co-founder of Paraguay Data, the country’s first media outlet focused on data journalism. She has worked on transnational projects for OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) and Connectas. Over 14 years, she published corruption investigations that led to institutional audits and criminal charges against public officials. Her investigation into the diversion of 70 million dollars from the Municipality of Asunción prompted the mayor’s resignation in 2025. She has been a fellow at Mongabay and the ICFJ. In the last year, she developed a training program at Universidad Columbia del Paraguay, forming the country’s first generation of data journalists.
Sewell Chan (United States) – University of Southern California
Sewell Chan is an American journalist, currently serving as a senior fellow at the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy and as a visiting fellow at Harvard’s Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Ethics. Until 2024, he was editor in chief of the nonprofit Texas Tribune, where he led award-winning coverage of state government and policy. He previously held senior editing roles at the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. He began his career in 2000 as a reporter at The Washington Post.
Stevan Dojčinović (Serbia) – KRIK/OCCRP
Stevan Dojčinović is the founder of the Serbian investigative portal KRIK (Crime and Corruption Reporting Network) and the Balkan editor for OCCRP (Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project) network. He specializes in investigating organized crime and is the author of the book Saric, about the notorious Balkan drug lord. After exposing links between key members of the Serbian government and organized crime, he became the target of a smear campaign by pro-government newspapers, as well as more than a dozen SLAPP lawsuits filed by individuals connected to the president. He also teaches the next generation of journalists how to protect their sources and ensure their personal safety.
Sohei Ide (Japan) – Kyodo News
Sohei Ide is a journalist for Japan’s Kyodo News with over 25 years of career reporting on macro economy, financial regulations, and fiscal and monetary policy. His latest book, Talking To The World’s Great Minds About What Comes After Capitalism (2024), explores progressive ideas for a radical overhaul of the current socio-economic system. He was a London correspondent from 2011 to 2014 during the height of the European debt crisis.
Aude Kersulec (France) – France 24/BFM Business
Aude Kersulec is a French journalist specializing in international economic and financial news. A graduate of ESSEC Business School, she was trained in economic analysis, financial markets, and monetary issues. Before turning to journalism, she worked in the banking sector in Paris and Geneva. She is now a journalist and news anchor at France 24, where she presents international news bulletins. In parallel, she appears on BFM Business, where she comments on financial markets, macroeconomics, and real-time economic news.
Kwetey Nartey (Ghana) – JoyNews
Kwetey Nartey is an investigative journalist. His career path has taken him from a beat reporter to one of Ghana’s foremost investigative reporters. He is also an assisting news editor at JoyNews, one of the largest media networks in West Africa that broadcasts in English. His impactful investigative journalism work has earned him the Best Journalist Prize at two West Africa Media Awards (in 2021 and 2022) and the best investigative reporter by the Ghana Journalists Association for three consecutive years (2013-2015) for exposing systemic fraud and human rights abuses.
Allen Wan (China) – Bloomberg News
Allen Wan is a veteran foreign correspondent based in Shanghai. He has worked in a variety of roles for Bloomberg News over the past decade or so, including bureau chief and deputy team leader, and is currently a senior editor responsible for multimedia, including documentaries, short videos, newsletters, and television. The New York native has been the recipient of journalism awards from SABEW and SOPA. He is a former reporter/editor for Reuters in Hong Kong and Tokyo and for CBS MarketWatch in New York and San Francisco. He graduated from Boston University and holds a Master’s degree from Georgetown and a law degree from Rutgers. His hobbies include acting, boxing and softball. He is a Mets fan and is looking forward to their duels with the Cubbies.
