Musikilu Mojeed (’10) is Named an International John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford

  • By Newmark J-School Staff

Musikilu Mojeed accepts congratulations from Dean Stephen Shepard at the 2010 commencement ceremony
Class of 2010 alum Musikilu Mojeed has added to his post-graduate honors by landing one of eight coveted slots as an International John S. Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University for the 2012-13 academic year. He was chosen from among a record 234 applicants, and will start the nine-month fellowship at Stanford in September.

Mojeed, who is managing editor of Premium Times Services Ltd. in Abuja, Nigeria, will work on a platform to connect Nigerian journalists with vital records and other resources for in-depth reporting.

Last November, Mojeed won the Editor’s Courage Award for a series of stories that documented efforts by Nigerian government officials to enrich themselves at the expense of the country’s oil industry.

Mojeed received the prize from the Forum for African Investigative Reporters (FAIR) at its African Investigative Journalism Awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa on Nov. 1, 2011. Two reporters who work for Mojeed at Next, which combines a traditional newspaper with a service that provides news and information over mobile devices, the Internet, radio, and other broadcast and digital platforms, were also honored for their work on the project.

Mojeed was a journalist for 10 years before coming to the CUNY J-School in the fall of 2009. “Musikilu really thrived in the program,” said Prue Clarke, who was one of his instructors in the International Reporting concentration. “It was a daunting task for him to translate his experience in Nigeria into an American news media setting but he embraced every challenge, worked hard to get to the truth, and taught all of us a thing or two along the way.”