I'm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida today to lead a session at the National Writers Workshop. The subject is noteworthy online journalism, and I've put together a list - not at all comprehensive - of some exceptional Web pieces.
I've recently started a Knight-Bagehot Fellowship, which gives mid-career journalists the opportunity to spend a year at Columbia University. The Fellowship is endowed by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which does a terrific job of supporting contemporary journalism. The program is named after Walter Bagehot, a 19th-century renaissance man who was an early editor of The Economist. I'm spending much of my time at the Columbia Business School, where I'm studying subjects like Corporate Finance, Accounting and Strategy. It's terrific to be back in an academic setting. While at Columbia this year, I'm on leave from Time, and I'm looking forward to rejoining my colleagues at the conclusion of the fellowship.
One of the subjects I most enjoyed reporting on this summer was The Case for National Service, which was published a couple of weeks ago. As part of the reporting for that cover package, my colleague Kristina Dell and I reported on organizations like Ashoka, which take an innovative, ambitious approach to making a difference through social entrepreneurship. It will be interesting to see if a dialogue about national service gains momentum over the course of the presidential campaign season ahead.
