New York City, May 15, 2025 — The Journalism Protection Initiative at the City University of New York’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism announced that distinguished investigative journalist Gustavo Gorriti has been named a Knight Press Freedom Fellow hosted at the Missouri School of Journalism.
Gorriti is widely regarded as one of Latin America’s most accomplished investigative journalists. His decades of work have exposed corruption at the highest levels of government, including his leadership in the groundbreaking Lava Jato investigation that revealed widespread corruption across Latin America.
Gorriti has established himself as a fearless chronicler of political corruption and abuse of power. His groundbreaking investigations in Peru documented the rise of the Shining Path terrorist group and exposed drug ties within government intelligence services. As a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and later at Panama’s La Prensa, he continued producing high-impact investigative work across borders. In 2010, he founded the Peruvian-based IDL -Reporteros, which has become a leading investigative outlet in the region. A Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and recipient of the International Press Freedom Award and Maria Moors Cabot Prize, Gorriti has mentored countless journalists throughout Latin America while setting the standard for rigorous investigative methodology.
“Gorriti’s commitment to accountability journalism, often at great personal risk, embodies the values this fellowship was created to support,” said Joel Simon, Director of the Journalism Protection Initiative. “His presence will benefit journalism students in the U.S. and our broader mission of protecting press freedom worldwide.”
The Knight Press Freedom Fellowship program assists exceptional journalists facing censorship, repression, or threats of violence, with the goal of helping them continue their vital work. During his fellowship, Gorriti will:
- Teach and collaborate with students on investigative projects
- Deliver public talks on press freedom and civil society in Latin America
- Share expertise on transnational investigative journalism
- Work with U.S. partners on enhancing physical and digital security measures for journalists
“We are grateful to the Knight Foundation for giving us this opportunity to welcome one of our hemisphere’s most celebrated investigative journalists to Mizzou,” said Kathy Kiely, the school’s Lee Hills Chair in Free Press Studies and a member of the JPI advisory board. “Gustavo Gorriti is a model of grace and tenacity in the face of adversity, an exemplar of fact-based journalism in an age of disinformation. He will be an inspiration not only to our students but to our entire journalism community.”
The fellowship program partners with leading journalism institutions including the Knight-Wallace Fellowships at the University of Michigan, the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford, and the Missouri School of Journalism.
The Knight Press Freedom Fellowship program is made possible with support from the John S. Knight Foundation.
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The Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY is a public graduate journalism school that prepares students from diverse economic, racial, and cultural backgrounds to produce high-quality journalism. In 2024, the school launched a campaign to provide free tuition, in perpetuity, to all of its students. Established in February 2023 at the Newmark J-School, the Journalism Protection Initiative works to ensure journalists can operate safely and that their reporting reaches the communities they serve through research, convenings, and improved journalism education around safety.
Founded in 1908, the Missouri School of Journalism is the world’s first such school and a recognized leader in journalism education. Students train through the renowned “Missouri Method,” gaining practical experience in seven professional media outlets and agencies – the Columbia Missourian, KOMU-TV, KBIA-FM, Vox Magazine, Missouri Business Alert, and strategic communication agencies AdZou and MOJO Ad. The School and its Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute — along with other centers housed at the School, including the Jonathan B. Murray Center for Documentary Journalism — support research, innovation and industry partnerships. With a global network of 31,000+ alumni and connections across six continents, the Missouri School of Journalism continues pioneering excellence in journalism and strategic communication.