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Announcements
January 5, 2012. The Schuster Institute and the Fund for Investigative Journalism join forces to support independent public interest investigative journalism through a new Fellowship program. Press release>
New Fellows:
- Scott Carney
- Karen Coates
- Rebekah Cowell
- Jennifer Margulis
- Tracie McMillan
- Jerry Redfern
- Hella Winston
December 1, 2011.
Melissa Ludtke, formerly of Harvard's Nieman Reports, joined the Schuster Institute as Executive Editor.
November 12, 2011.
Elaine Schuster, cofounding donor with her husband Gerald of the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, was honored at the Big Sister of Greater Boston's 60th anniversary event.
In the News
Melissa Ludtke in "Good Writing Isn't Enough: How to Sell a Book in the Digital Age," Peter Osnos, January 10, 2012, The Atlantic.
E. Benjamin Skinner in "Remembering Richard Holbrooke," Jacob Heilbrunn, December 30, 2011, New York Times.
Appearances
December 6, 2011, 7 p.m. (MT). Journalist Karen Coates and photojournalist Jerry Redfern, new Schuster Senior Fellows, spoke about the legacy of American bombs in Laos in "Eternal Harvest: The Legacy of American Bombs in Laos." Photo exhibit. University of Montana, Missoula, MT.
December 6, 2011. Erin Siegal spoke with Jeff Schechtman about her new book "Finding Fernanda," KVON-AM (ABC), Napa Valley.
Awards & Honors
Jan Goodwin, Schuster Institute Senior Fellow, has received two 2011 Clarion Awards for her investigative articles "The VA Healthcare System's Dishonorable Conduct" and "Broken Promises," which also won a 2010 James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism.
E. Benjamin Skinner, Schuster Institute Senior Fellow, was honored as a 2011 Young Global Leaders by the World Economic Forum.
Affiliations
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© 2008-2012 Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, 02454. All rights reserved.
The Front Page
| NEW "New Agtivist: Growing food sovereignty in the desert," Tracie McMillan, January 17, 2012, Grist. | |
| NEW "Where Does the Money Go?" Haiti Grassroots Watch leads the way in accountablity reporting on reconstruction in Haiti. The Schuster Institute provides resources for those who want to investigate what's happening. | |
| "In Lakewood Abuse cases, A 'Parallel Justice System," Hella Winston, December 6, 2011, The Jewish Week. |
Human Rights & Social Justice Reporting on:
- DNA Access Law for Massachusetts Prisoners
- Human Trafficking & Modern-Day Slavery
- Fraud & Corruption in International Adoptions
- Sexual Harassment of Teens at Work
- Injustice in Political Asylum
- Women Veterans' Healthcare
- Justice Integrity Project
- Food Safety & Foodborne Illness
- See articles listed by topic>
Fraud & Corruption in International Adoptions
"Finding Fernanda: Two Mothers, One Child, and a Cross-Border Search for the Truth," Erin Siegal, Cathexis Press, in book stores November 1, 2011.
Siegal does a fantastic job of breaking down a complicated story, and gives voice to the distinct players involved in Guatemalan children being adopted by US families. “Finding Fernanda” is a gripping read that offers glimpses of hope in what was an otherwise heartbreaking system.
—The Christian Science Monitor,
November 28, 2011Featured on Boing Boing's Holiday Gift List: Xeni Jardin writes, "Siegal's work rings true, and is the most in-depth and compelling treatment of the topic I have ever read."
Asociación Primavera Lawyer and Director Found Guilty of Human Trafficking in Karen Abigail Case, Timothy and Jennifer Monihan Appear on TV, October 24, 2011, Erin Siegal.
Guatemala Court Revokes Passport, Asks for Return of Child "Karen Abigail."
As part of her extensive investigation of international adoption in Guatemala, Schuster Institute Fellow Erin Siegal reports on the sad and complicated drama of the Guatemalan child, Anyelí Liseth Hernández Rodríguez, allegedly kidnapped in November 3, 2006, and then in 2007, placed with American parents in Missouri. Also at Huffington Post.
"The Makeni Children," August 9, 2011, Slate.com.
The international adoption of 29 children from Sierra Leone to the West in 1998 occurred during a civil war. Adoptive parents believed they were rescuing orphans. But the birth families say they've been searching for the children ever since.
In a riveting three-part series, Schuster Institute Senior Fellow E.J. Graff investigates the adoption of two of those children, whose American families learned—13 years after the adoption—that birth families were looking for their children.
Graff’s investigation traces two international adoptions—including the adoption of Samuel Mosley—shedding light on the adoption process and what went wrong. In what may be the first time anywhere, she takes readers through every stop along the adoption chain: birth families, adoptive families, an adopted child, a government official, and the responsible adoption and child welfare agencies.
What happens when it appears that international adoption hasn’t saved an orphan—but, rather, created one? Can justice be done?
More about fraud and corruption in international adoption>
Human Trafficking & Modern-Day Slavery
Slavery has not ended. Today, human beings are enslaved all over the world—including in the United States. For example, they are forced to work in agriculture, fishing, gravel pits, mines, restaurants, as domestic servants, and in brothels.
More about human trafficking and modern-day slavery>"How U.S. Budget Cuts Prolong Global Slavery," E. Benjamin Skinner, June 28, 2011, TIME.com.
"A Decade of Anti-Trafficking Legislation: Looking Back and Moving Forward," Sophie Elsner, June 26, 2011, Huffington Post.
Need to Know on PBS interview with E. Benjamin Skinner on modern-day slavery, June 17, 2011.
"Britain's Long Fight Against Slavery," E. Benjamin Skinner, Huffington Post, May 2, 2011.
Food Safety & Foodborne Illness
Each year, contaminated food sends an estimated 128,000 victims to the hospital, and it kills some 3,000 children and adults.
In her investigative article “Why Your Food Isn’t Safe,” Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism Senior Fellow Madeline Drexler teamed with Good Housekeeping magazine and investigated and carefully detailed serious lapses and failures in U.S. food safety policies and practices. In her investigation, Drexler points to specific actions government agencies should take to reduce the frequency and severity of serious, sometimes deadly, foodborne illness outbreaks. She also offers steps consumers can take to protect themselves from foods bought in grocery stores, farm markets, and restaurants
Learn more about foodborne illness and food safety policy:
- Food safety: An overview
- Common foodborne germs
- People who have fallen victim to foodborne illness
- Food safety: A historical look
- Who monitors our food?
- Non-O157 E. Coli: The growing threat
- The food safety budget is starved
- How to fix the food safety system
- Resources for learning more and how to stay informed
Injustice in Political Asylum
Broken Promises: Seeking Political Asylum in America," Ladies Home Journal, April 2010.
Torture survivors and rape victims seeking political asylum are locked up alongside hardened criminals in U.S. prisons, where they often remain for months, even years.
This article by Senior Fellow Jan Goodwin is the winner of three journalism awards.
More investigative articles by Jan Goodwin>
Women Veterans' Healthcare
"The VA Health-Care System's Dishonorable Conduct," Good Housekeeping, March 2010.
Schuster Institute Senior Fellow Jan Goodwin investigated and wrote about serious failings in the Veterans Administration’s healthcare offerings for female veterans. Within months of the publication of both Goodwin’s investigation and a related Government Accountability Office report, the following events occurred:
The Association for Women in Communications honored this article with a 2011 Clarion Award.
- Veterans Affairs to Ease Claim Process for Stress Disorder, The New York Times.
- Landmark Health Care Bill for Female Veterans, May 5, 2010. President Obama signed into law the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010, a landmark bill that will bolster care for female veterans.
More investigative articles by Jan Goodwin>
Justice Integrity Project
The Justice Integrity Project is a project of Schuster Institute's Senior Fellow Andrew Kreig, where he is the executive director and co-founder. The "focus of the Justice Integrity Project is to promote effective oversight of federal prosecution and judicial misconduct" by way of educating the "public and its opinion-leaders" and working with "legal officials, organizations, and voters to increase awareness of how federal injustice harms the country."
Most recent posts from the Justice Integrity Project:
Experts Cite Google's SEO Rivalries as Key for Consumers
Pundits Whitewash Supreme Court Obama-Care Conflicts
More investigative articles by Andrew Kreig>
Sexual Harassment of Teens at Work
Few people understand how aggressive and hostile sexual harassment can be. And few teens are adequately prepared or instructed about how to face it at their after-school, weekend, or summer jobs.
"Summer Jobs Often Lead to Harassment," ABC's WCVB-TV, July 10, 2009.
"Is Your Daughter Safe at Work?" PBS Now/Schuster Institute, Feb. 20, 2009.
“Is Your Daughter Safe at Work?” Good Housekeeping, July 2007.
More about sexual harassment of teenagers in the workplace>




