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For Immediate Release
Program Contact: Sree Sreenivasan, ss221@columbia.edu of (212) 854-5979
Media Contact: Eric Sharfstein, es3106@columbia.edu or (212) 854-6164
Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism Selects Rebecca
MacKinnon as Hearst Professional-in-Residence
New York, NY (November 9, 2011)—Columbia University’s Graduate School of
Journalism today announced that Rebecca MacKinnon, a widely respected digital
journalism expert and Internet freedom advocate, has been selected as this year’s Hearst
Professional-in-Residence for the Spring 2012 semester. MacKinnon is a Bernard L.
Schwartz Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation, where she conducts research,
writing and advocacy on global Internet policy, free expression, and the impact of digital
technologies on human rights. Her forthcoming book, Consent of the Networked: The
World Struggle for Internet Freedom, will be published in January 2012 by Basic Books.
She is cofounder of Global Voices, an international citizen media network. She also
serves on the Board of Directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Global
Network Initiative, a multi-stakeholder organization dedicated to protecting and
advancing freedom of expression and privacy in information and communications
technologies.
"We are thrilled to have Rebecca MacKinnon with us this year as Hearst Professional-in-
Residence,” said Nicholas Lemann, dean of the school. “Rebecca is one of the leaders of
a vitally important global conversation about free expression and freedom of the press,
which the development of online tools has given a special force and urgency. Rebecca's
presence here gives the Journalism School community a chance to learn more about, and
to show its support for, her work."
In 2010, MacKinnon was a Visiting Fellow at Princeton’s Center or Information
Technology Policy. Prior to that she conducted research and writing as an Open Society
Fellow, taught online journalism and conducted research on Chinese Internet censorship
at the University of Hong Kong’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre, and was a
Research Fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, where she began
her ongoing research and writing about the Chinese Internet in addition to launching
Global Voices with colleague Ethan Zuckerman.

Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, MacKinnon worked for CNN in Beijing for nine years
including as Beijing Bureau Chief and Correspondent from 1998-2001, then served as
Tokyo Bureau Chief and Correspondent from 2001-03. MacKinnon received her AB
magna cum laude from Harvard College and was a Fullbright scholar in Taiwan in 1991-
92.
“We live in a time of great challenge and disruption for news organizations. But for
young journalists who dare to be creative and original these are also times of tremendous
excitement and opportunity,” said MacKinnon. “I look forward to exploring the future
with a group of talented and motivated students.”
MacKinnon will deliver the annual Hearst New Media Lecture at the school on
April 19, 2012. The talk, an annual event about the state of digital journalism, is
scheduled as the opening event for the School’s alumni weekend. Other talks and
discussions led by MacKinnon and in conjunction with Columbia professors Sree
Sreenivasan and Emily Bell will also be planned.
The Hearst New Media Professional-in-Residence is appointed each year to participate in
the educational activities of the school. The appointment has been made possible by a
generous gift from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. Recent professionals-inresidence
have included: Krishna Bharat, creator of Google News; Steven Berlin
Johnson, noted author and digital expert; Kenneth Lerer, Huffington Post’s chairman and
co-founder; Brian Storm, former lead multimedia producer, MSNBC.com; Adrian
Holovaty, former editorial innovations editor, WashingtonPost.com; Neal Scarborough,
former editor-in-chief of ESPN.com, Dan Gillmor, citizen journalism expert; and writer
Dan Okrent.
About the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
For almost a century, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism has been
preparing journalists with instruction and training that stresses academic rigor, ethics,
journalistic inquiry, and professional practice. Founded with a gift from Joseph Pulitzer,
the School opened its doors in 1912 and offers master of science, master of arts, and
doctor of philosophy degrees. Learn more at www.journalism.columbia.edu.
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