Carnegie-Knight News21
This national reporting initiative brings top journalism students from across the country together to report and produce in-depth, multimedia projects.
Shed light on important issues
Carnegie-Knight News21 is a national reporting initiative headquartered at the Cronkite School, which brings top journalism students from across the country to report and produce in-depth, multimedia projects for major media outlets, including The Washington Post, NBC News and USA Today.
Students selected for the News21 program study a topic in-depth during a spring video-conferenced topics seminar, followed by a 10-week reporting fellowship during the summer. Students work out of a newsroom at the Cronkite School and travel the U.S. – and sometimes to other countries – to report and produce their projects.
Over the years, participating schools have produced projects on health, religion, senior citizens, energy, education, the economy, diversity and politics, among other topics. In addition, News21 students have produced national investigations on voting rights, transportation safety, food safety, veterans issues and guns in America.
The Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation joined forces in 2005 to launch News21 as a cornerstone of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education.
Donor support makes possible core funding for the News21 program and fellowships for students. Thank you to our generous supporters, including the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Miami Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Inasmuch Foundation, Hearst Foundations, Arnold Ventures/Action Now Initiative, Arizona Republic/azcentral, and Myrta Pulliam.
Read our investigations
2021: Unmasking America
Thirty-five top journalism students from 17 universities conducted a major investigation into the lingering impact of the pandemic.
2020: Kids Imprisoned
“Kids Imprisoned” investigates the juvenile justice system in America.
2019: State of Emergency
Students from 19 universities traveled across the country, examining, among other things, how local and federal agencies respond to communities devastated by disasters.