Cristi Hegranes wins Bravery in Journalism award

Cristi Hegranes works in a bar by night, by day she’s “a media innovator” and this year’s winner of the Ida B. Wells Award for Bravery in Journalism. Hegranes founded a nonprofit, the Press Institue for Women in the Developing World, to train women in the developing world as journalists and then hire them to reported on under-reported stories,

Hegranes believed that local reporting by people immersed in the issues would make for better journalism. So Hegranes left a “dream job,” as she called it, to start the institute. Those chosen were trained for one year on how to write. “It’s been inspiring to see them change their lives,” Hegranes said. And Hegranes said there is no doubt that the women produce real journalism. “The depth and level of stories we get has been really incredible,” Hegranes said. link