New Press Fellows arrive at Wolfson

The new Press Fellows will be in College for the next ten-week period, each investigating a subject of his or her own choosing under light academic supervision.

Three of this year's Fellows hail from Malaysia, and one from Pakistan. Learn more about them below:

Ida Lim is a Senior Correspondent on Malay Mail Online. She’s here to investigate ways that Malaysia can address the questions that will be posed by the country’s rapidly-ageing population. How can Malaysians fund their retirement? How can the gaps be filled when older people cannot afford the necessary care? Would working longer help? How can the continued contribution of older workers to the workforce be supported or facilitated? How can communities become more age-friendly? How can senior citizens have an active social life and a better quality of life?

Luqman Hariz is a reporter, news anchor and producer on the Astro Awani Network in Malaysia. He’s here to investigate complexities of AI's integration into journalism, and how to make it work. By weaving together the threads of journalists’ lived experiences, social and ethical considerations, and the economic landscape, he’s looking for ways of maximizing the technology’s potential, and navigating its potential pitfalls.

Jenifer Laeng is a Reporter on the Borneo Post. She’s here to explore the impact of ‘statelessness’ (i.e. people who are not considered as nationals by any State) with a particular focus on the Orang Ulu community in Sarawak and the impact of statelessness on mental health in that community.

Saad Zuberi is the first holder of the Derek Ingram/CJA Press Fellowship. He is an Emmy and IDA award nominated freelance journalist, documentary filmmaker and media consultant based in Pakistan. He has worked as a researcher and producer for various news organisations including the BBC, Channel 4, Al Jazeera, ITV and other production companies in the UK and Pakistan. He’s come to Wolfson to study how the ‘Global South’ is framed in Western documentaries about that part of the world.

About the programme

The Wolfson College Press Fellowship is a residential programme held in Cambridge for three months during Easter Term (April-June). The programme has been running since 1982 and to date has welcomed over 350 journalists from 47 countries.

The Press Fellowship programme is not a course, but an opportunity for mid-career journalists to research a project of their own choosing under light academic supervision. Although each Press Fellow is free to choose what they wish to investigate, their project needs to be relevant to one or more of three broad themes:

The changing role of media in a networked world
Improving the reporting of business, the environment, sustainable development, medicine, bio-science and technology
The role of free media in democratic governance

Press Fellows become members of Wolfson College, and gain access while they are in residence to a wide variety of social, intellectual and scholarly resources at the University of Cambridge. During their stay they work in close collaboration with the Director of the Programme, Professor John Naughton, who is the co-founder of the Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy in the University, and the Technology columnist of the London Observer newspaper.

Staff

John Naughton (Director) is an academic and a journalist. He was former Vice-President of Wolfson College, writes a weekly column for the London Observer and is a well-known blogger. His books on the history and significance of the Internet, From Gutenberg to Zuckerburg: what you really need to know about the internet and A Brief History of the Future: the origins of the Internet, have been translated into several languages, including Chinese. He is Emeritus Professor of the Public Understanding of Technology at the Open University.

Michelle Searle provides administrative support for the Press Fellowship.

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