Cortez Journal reporter Tobie Baker recently garnered a competitive journalism fellowship to examine issues that juveniles encounter in the criminal justice system.
The 2014 John Jay/Tow Foundation Reporting Fellows include 25 U.S. journalists from print, online and broadcast outlets. He joined reporters from organizations including NPR, San Jose Mercury News, The Baltimore Sun, Miami Herald and The Los Angeles Times as the fellowship kicked off a "Kids, Crime & Justice: Progress or Paralysis?" symposium in New York City on Oct. 5.
The fellowships, organized by John Jay's Center on Media, Crime and Justice (CMCJ), aim to promote quality journalism on juvenile justice issues.
"In today's debates on criminal justice, how we deal with troubled young people often gets lost on the national agenda," said CMCJ director Stephen Handelman. "We've selected some of the best journalists in the country to drive better reporting on these issues."
Symposium speakers include leaders from the Los Angeles Unified School District, Center of Policing Equity, Justice Policy Institute and Youth Advocate Programs. A number of university professors, judges and attorneys are also scheduled to speak.
The fellows were selected from a wide pool of applicants based on editors' recommendations and planned projects.
Baker intends to examine issues that Native American juveniles confront when caught up in off-reservation jurisdictions.
He'll focus his efforts in Cortez, but plans to include Gallup, N.M., Monticello, Utah, and Flagstaff, Ariz.