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Washington, D.C. – Three Fuller Project contributing reporters have been selected as 2024 finalists for excellence in international reporting by the prestigious Livingston Awards, which honor the best reporting and storytelling by young journalists under the age of 35.
The finalists in local, national and international reporting categories were chosen from more than 400 entries and represent The Fuller Project’s 2023 reporting from Somaliland, Afghanistan and Ukraine:
“Somaliland’s Frankincense Brings Gold to Companies. Its Women Pay the Price” by Rachel Fobar, published in partnership with The Guardian US
“Afghan Women Take Their Own Lives as Despair Grows Under Taliban Rule” by Zahra Nader, co-published with The Guardian and Zan Times
‘This War Made Him a Monster.’ Ukrainian Women Fear the Return of Their Partners” by Jessie Williams, published in partnership with TIME Magazine
“It’s hugely gratifying to see this recognition for the talented young journalists we work with to shine a light on injustices around the world that would otherwise go unreported,” said Claire Cozens, The Fuller Project’s Global Managing Editor, who oversaw the three projects. “This is a testament to their tenacious reporting, and to the courage of the women who shared their stories with us.”
The Fuller Project’s journalism is represented alongside leading newsrooms including The Washington Post, The New York Times, New Lines Magazine and The Nation.
“This year’s finalists share a commitment to truth, accountability, nuance and empathy at a moment in which these qualities can often feel in short supply,” said Lynette Clemetson, director of the awards and the Wallace House Center for Journalists, in announcing the finalists.
One winner will be selected in each of the three categories by an esteemed panel of judges including Raney Aronson-Rath, executive producer, “FRONTLINE”; Sally Buzbee, executive editor, The Washington Post; Sewell Chan, editor in chief, The Texas Tribune; Audie Cornish, anchor and correspondent, CNN; Lydia Polgreen, opinion columnist, The New York Times; and Kara Swisher, podcast host, New York Magazine, among others. The winners will be announced June 11, 2024.
The Fuller Project is the global newsroom dedicated to groundbreaking reporting that catalyzes positive change for women. Since 2015, The Fuller Project’s reporting has influenced new legislation, helped end life-threatening practices, and led to large scale releases of public data.
We report exclusive stories centered on women that otherwise would not be told. Our long-standing focus on women, especially those facing racial or other forms of bias, leads to journalism that by challenging conventional thinking inspires action. Our reporting is relied on by policymakers, corporate leaders, influencers, and individuals across the globe, leading to better outcomes for women and their communities.
Contact: Kim Abbott at 202-441-4404.
The Fuller Project’s investigation into India’s sugar cane farming industry was mentioned in The New York Times’ Monday Briefing newsletter.
The Fuller Project’s investigation into India’s sugar cane farming industry was mentioned in Fortune’s Broadsheet newsletter.
The Fuller Project’s investigation into why women make up just 31% of workers in green energy was reprinted in the Sierra Club Magazine.
The Fuller Project’s reporting on Africa’s fashion boom and its potential to create more jobs for women was mentioned in the Wilson Quarterly December dispatch.
The Fuller Project’s Aaron Glantz was featured on Marketplace to discuss our investigation into why women make up just 31 percent of workers in green energy, the sexism they experience, and the historic opportunity to rebalance the field.
Fortune’s Broadsheet mentioned Laurie Hays as The Fuller Project’s new Editor-in-Chief/CEO.
Talking Biz News mentioned Laurie Hays as The Fuller Project’s new Editor-in-Chief/CEO
Washington, D.C. – Laurie Hays, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor who spent 30 years leading investigations and enterprise reporting at the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News, has been named Editor-in-Chief and CEO of The Fuller Project, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to groundbreaking reporting that catalyzes positive change for women. In the newly created role, Hays will oversee both the day-to-day operations of the newsroom and the business functions of the nonprofit. She replaces Fuller co-founder and CEO Dr. Xanthe Scharff, who will continue to support The Fuller Project as a special advisor.
“We are so pleased to announce that Laurie Hays will lead The Fuller Project, bringing her unique experience and talents to this vital mission,” said Tim Isgitt, Chair of the Board of Directors. “We look forward to working with Laurie and The Fuller Project team in this next chapter, to build upon the tremendous foundation of impactful reporting that has been developed in its first eight years under the leadership of co-founder Xanthe Scharff.”
Scharff, who announced her departure to staff last month, has led The Fuller Project from a small group of dedicated freelance reporters to a thriving global nonprofit newsroom producing journalism that routinely catalyzes positive change for women and their communities. During her tenure, Fuller has produced reporting from 67 countries on five continents, earning more than 30 industry awards including a Helen Gurley Brown Genius Award.“The board is deeply grateful for Xanthe’s visionary leadership and service,” said Isgitt.
“As we step into our next chapter, Laurie’s position as both our top executive and editorial visionary reflects the seriousness with which we take our investigative journalism, which is deepening and driving more impact everyday,” said Scharff of her successor.
Hays’ professional journalism career began in New Orleans as a politics and education reporter for the States-Item and Times Picayune. She joined the Wall Street Journal in 1986, where she reported from Moscow during the fall of the Soviet Union from 1990 to 1993, served as bureau chief in Atlanta, national news editor starting in 2003, and finally as assistant managing editor for investigations. After 23 years, she left the Journal in 2008 for Bloomberg News to oversee 1,200 beat reporters globally and reshape the newsroom to break more stories and pursue stronger enterprise articles. Under her leadership, Bloomberg won its first and only Pulitzer Prize, along with numerous education and business reporting awards.
She left Bloomberg in 2015 to work in crisis consulting for Brunswick and Edelman, and later founded Laurie Hays & Assoc., a strategic communications advisory firm focused on business and society, primarily working on #MeToo issues and advocating for equality in the workplace for women and people of color.
Hays serves on the boards of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, the Overseas Press Club, and the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism. She was a founding director of the Pulitzer Prize-winning non-profit Marshall Project and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York.
“As a passionate journalist and feminist, I’m very excited to have the opportunity to lead this great organization,” said Hays. “Margaret Fuller was a women’s rights pioneer who believed that women needed to read as much as possible and fully engage with the world to attain equality with men. We still have a long way to go, and The Fuller Project’s mission is ever more urgent, publishing important, untold stories about women’s struggles and achievements as we work to catalyze change and break down the structural barriers still holding women back.”
Hays assumes her new role in early January.
The Fuller Project is the global newsroom dedicated to groundbreaking reporting that catalyzes positive change for women. Since 2015, The Fuller Project’s reporting has influenced new legislation, helped end life-threatening practices, and led to large scale releases of public data.
We report exclusive stories centered on women that otherwise would not be told. Our long-standing focus on women, especially those facing racial or other forms of bias, leads to journalism that by challenging conventional thinking inspires action. Our reporting is relied on by policymakers, corporate leaders, influencers, and individuals across the globe, leading to better outcomes for women and their communities.
Contact: Kim Abbott at 202-441-4404.
The Fuller Project’s Aaron Glantz wrote an OpEd for NPR reflecting on his time as a Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellow and the impact Rosalynn Carter had on journalists.
The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition mentioned The Fuller Project’s objection to a suppression of sex assault case records that were admitted into evidence in open court hearings amid an investigation on dating apps facilitating sexual violence.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kimberly Abbott
Phone: 202-441-4404
Email: Kabbott@fullerproject.org
November 13, 2023
Washington, DC – The Fuller Project, a global investigative news organization focused on women, filed papers in Denver District Court Friday that seek to make public records in the case of Colorado cardiologist and alleged serial rapist Stephen Matthews, which have been presented in open court. Matthews stands charged of sexually assaulting nearly a dozen women, in attacks that prosecutors say were facilitated by the dating apps Tinder and Hinge.
“The documentation of how Stephen Matthews used dating apps is pivotal to understanding how these apps were weaponized to cause harm on such a large scale and is essential to preventing something like this from happening again,” said Emily Elena Dugdale, a reporter for The Fuller Project and fellow with the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting’s AI Accountability Network.
The Fuller Project became aware of this case as a part of a larger investigation on dating app facilitated sexual violence.
The news organization has also established a confidential text line (213) 373-4260 and email address apps@fullerproject.org. Survivors of sexual assault and others with knowledge of violence linked to dating apps are invited to reach out anonymously via email, SMS, Signal, or WhatsApp to reach our reporters. We will not share any information without your explicit permission.
The Fuller Project’s action, which joins a court filing by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on behalf of the Colorado News Collaborative, argues that Judge Eric. M. Johnson erred when he ordered certain court records be “suppressed” from public access until the conclusion of Matthews’ trial. The trial is set to be held next March.
Hanisha Harjani, a reporter for The Fuller Project, said the ruling puts women at risk: “When the public is blocked from knowledge like this, it allows harm to keep perpetuating.”
In their filing, the news organizations argue that Judge Johnson’s ruling violates rule 55.1 of the Colorado Rule of Criminal Procedure, which sets a strong presumption of public access to judicial records in criminal cases. They also point out that records detailing Matthews’ use of dating apps were admitted in open court.
“Having allowed these public observations, this Court cannot now put the genie back in the bottle and restrict access to these Exhibits,” reads the objection filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on behalf of Colorado News Collaborative.
The Fuller Project is the global newsroom dedicated to groundbreaking reporting that catalyzes positive change for women.
The Fuller Project’s reporting on Afghan suicides was mentioned in GIJN’s 10 Questions with Zahra Nader.
The Fuller Project’s Hanisha Harjani was featured on Cap Radio to discuss their story about a new CA bill awaiting Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature that would require VC firms to disclose the demographics of the companies they fund.
The Fuller Project’s Hanisha Harjani was featured on WBUR’s Here & Now to discuss their story about a new CA bill awaiting Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature that would require VC firms to disclose the demographics of the companies they fund.
Politico’s Women Rule newsletter mentioned The Fuller Project’s reporting on Susan Chomba, a climate scientist who is leading the fight against climate change.
Cal Matters highlighted our story on the cash apps that are targeting young women – who often end up in debt.
The Fuller Project’s Aaron Glantz was featured on NPR’s Here & Now to discuss his reporting on the young women who are finding themselves trapped in a cycle of debt as they tap into largely unregulated Earned Wage Access apps that offer emergency cash ahead of proven, upcoming paychecks.
