The Director of Programmes on the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Growth (CJID), Akintunde Babatunde, has been chosen for the distinguished Poynter Media Transformation Problem (MTC) Fellowship for 2025.
This positioned Mr Babatunde amongst an elite cohort of 32 senior media executives worldwide, chosen for his or her excellent contributions to journalism and their dedication to advancing media transformation and sustainability. Mr Babatunde is the second African to hitch the programme after the PREMIUM TIMES writer, Dapo Olorunyomi, who was the inaugural African fellow of the programme in 2023.
The MTC Fellowship is a yearlong programme on the famend Poynter Institute, designed to empower media leaders to sort out important enterprise efficiency challenges, foster innovation, and drive systemic change inside their organisations. Since 2007, the programme has geared up greater than 400 executives with essential instruments and insights, constructing a vibrant group devoted to strengthening journalism globally.
For the 2025 cohort of the fellowship, Mr Babatunde joins a distinguished and various group of leaders from international newsrooms, nonprofits, and progressive startups. Different fellows on the record are the CEO of Faith Information Basis, Deborah Caldwell; Deputy Tradition Editor, The New York Instances (AAJA Fellow), Barbara Chai; Controller, BBC World Service, Fiona Crack; Editor-in-Chief, Documented (Knight Fellow), Ethar El-Katatney; President & Co-Founder, The Intercept Brasil, Andrew Fishman; Senior Director of Consulting Providers, Information Income Hub (Knight Fellow), Abby Gingras; Senior Director, Nonprofit Intelligence, Chronicle of Philanthropy; Margie Glennon, and Vice President, World Security, Threat and Resilience, The Related Press, Mark Grant.
“The 2025 fellows are a wealthy mix of a number of the largest media manufacturers on this planet, cutting-edge nonprofits and media community help organisations,” Poynter Institute stated in an announcement.
Mr Babatunde stated he was deeply honoured to hitch the Poynter Media Transformation Problem Fellowship alongside so many completed leaders from all over the world. “This fellowship gives an unimaginable alternative to strengthen the work we’re doing at CJID and to be taught from the most effective within the subject. As we navigate an ever-changing media panorama, I’m wanting to collaborate with my different fellows and leverage the instruments and information from this programme to drive innovation and sustainability within the journalism sector, significantly in Africa,” Mr Babatunde stated.
The Government Director of the Media Transformation Problem, Charlie Baum, stated the institute is “thrilled to welcome Akintunde Babatunde into our MTC Fellowship.”
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Mr Baum added: “Akintunde’s dedication to journalism and his progressive work within the areas of fact-checking, social accountability, and local weather reporting have set him aside as a frontrunner within the media business. Akintunde’s imaginative and prescient aligns completely with the objectives of the MTC programme, and we look ahead to supporting him in advancing his mission and tackling the challenges going through journalism as we speak.”
About Akintunde Babatunde
The Poynter MTC Fellowship is the newest in a sequence of prestigious fellowships that Mr Babatunde has earned. His choice into the MTC Fellowship additional acknowledges his management in advancing the media panorama throughout Africa, significantly by way of his work at CJID.
Since becoming a member of the CJID, Mr Babatunde has managed greater than a dozen worldwide tasks throughout international locations comparable to Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia, Cameroon, Chad, Congo DR, Niger, Senegal, and Mozambique. Notably, he has led the centre’s DUBAWA initiative – Nigeria’s first indigenous fact-checking platform now in 8 African international locations. He led the UDEME social accountability venture on the centre and likewise pioneered the creation of the Pure Useful resource and Local weather Change Reporting and Analysis Unit (NAREP) of the Centre. Most just lately he has been the driving power behind the Digital Know-how, Synthetic Intelligence, and Data Dysfunction Evaluation arm (DAIDAC) of CJID.
In 2019, Mr Babatunde was introduced as a UNESCO Media and Data Literacy (MIL) Ambassador for Africa. He’s additionally a 2020 recipient of the UK Authorities Chevening Scholarship the place he studied Media Follow for Growth and Social Change on the College of Sussex and graduated with distinction.
Mr Babatunde’s international attain was additional prolonged in 2022 when he was chosen as a US Authorities Mandela Washington Fellow on the Presidential Precinct in Virginia, USA. These milestones replicate his ongoing dedication to excellence in media innovation and growth for democratic accountability in Africa.
At CJID, Mr Babatunde has carried out over 30 media innovation tasks with funding help from the largest donors and know-how firms all over the world together with the MacArthur Basis, Gates Basis, Open Society Basis, Luminate, UNESCO, Google, Meta and Tiktok.
A sought-after speaker and coach, Mr Babatunde has educated over 5,000 journalists and researchers throughout 13 African international locations and his work, articles and commentary have been featured in notable international boards such because the European Parliament, the New York Instances Local weather Hub, the College of London, and the Presidential Precinct.
The MTC Fellowship at Poynter will enable Mr Babatunde to additional discover progressive options to the essential challenges going through the media panorama and equip him with the instruments to broaden his impression throughout Africa and past.
In regards to the Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute is a worldwide nonprofit organisation devoted to advancing journalism and addressing probably the most urgent points going through the media business. Via its initiatives, Poynter equips journalists and organisations with the abilities and methods wanted to construct sustainable operations, promote public belief, and help press freedom worldwide.
About Media Transformation Problem (MTC)
The Media Transformation Problem is a vibrant group of follow supporting media leaders by way of its Fellowship Programme, Alumni Community, and Help Providers. MTC empowers leaders to develop progressive options, maintain impactful journalism, and reinforce democratic values.
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