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In a year marked by rising threats to democracy and rapid technological change, the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas closed out 2025 on a high note, cementing its role at the forefront of global efforts to strengthen independent and quality journalism. From surpassing 360,000 participants in its multilingual online training programs to convening nearly 900 media professionals from 58 countries at the 26th International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ), the Knight Center expanded its reach and impact amid a rapidly evolving media landscape. Through innovative courses on AI, in-depth reporting on Latin America and the Caribbean and initiatives supporting exiled journalists, the Knight Center continued to equip journalists and communicators worldwide with the tools and knowledge needed to confront challenges such as misinformation, digital security and threats to press freedom.

We’ve become an important reference for the latest developments in journalism globally, and we’re proud to note that throughout the year, the Knight Center and its various programs were mentioned or cited roughly 350 times in various academic articles and reports, news stories and newsletters, illustrating the reach and impact of our work.

In 2025, we also heard from those of you who filled out a survey we sent to our community members to better understand our impact. Of the more than 3,100 people who completed the survey, nearly all—90%—agreed that the Center’s online learning program is valuable for journalists around the world. Most respondents also said they felt like they belonged to a special journalism community with the Knight Center. We are so appreciative of everyone who took the time to participate in the survey. The results not only provide evidence of the value the Knight Center offers, but also shed light on what more we can do to ensure the Center remains a key resource for journalists worldwide.

This year-end report highlights our key achievements in 2025, showcasing the strength of our programs and serving as a testament to our commitment to supporting a free and independent press through education, research and innovation.

Online Education and Training

The Knight Center’s Journalism Courses program is the cornerstone of our mission to strengthen independent journalism around the world through accessible, high-quality training. Since 2012, we’ve trained more than 360,000 journalists, communicators and other media professionals from more than 200 countries and territories. By offering free and low-cost multilingual online courses, our Journalism Courses program breaks down barriers to professional development, especially for journalists in underserved media environments or resource-limited newsrooms.

Each year, our courses cover highly relevant and timely topics designed to prepare journalists for the most pressing challenges facing journalism, such as AI and automation, information integrity, digital security, solutions journalism and more. Over time we’ve offered more than 180 courses and webinars, keeping participants up to date on the latest media trends and giving them knowledge and skills that can immediately be applied in their work. These trainings have in part been successful thanks to partnerships and collaborations with a variety of organizations, from Google to United Nations agencies such as UNESCO, WHO and UNDP.

In 2025 alone, our Journalism Courses program:

• Offered 22 free and low-cost courses and webinars to more than 26,000 participants from more than 150 countries. Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, these trainings included topics such as AI tools for the newsroom, covering climate change, digital security for journalists, investigative journalism, launching a nonprofit newsroom, revenue for creator-journalists, and more.
• Launched 15 new on-demand courses and three on-demand webinar series, expanding the offerings available at JournalismCourses.org to 92 courses that journalists can take at any time, from anywhere in the world, on a variety of topics.
• Partnered with the Google News Initiative, Global Investigative Journalism Network, Solutions Journalism Network, Amazônia Vox and Project C.

LatAm Journalism Review

The Knight Center’s trilingual digital magazine, LatAm Journalism Review (LJR), and its weekly newsletter remained relevant as leading references for the latest news and analysis about the vital challenges and innovations in the region. This year the Knight Center conducted focus groups with readers to better understand the unique value LJR offers and how it can be of better service. Throughout the year, LJR featured original, in-depth reporting on timely and urgent topics, such as the struggle against disinformation, attacks against journalists and press freedom and the financial health of independent media outlets. Coverage also highlighted the wave of journalists, particularly from Central American countries, going into exile amid escalating censorship and attacks. Below are a few highlights from LJR in 2025:

• Published 687 original articles, including their translations (English, Spanish and Portuguese), as well as 1,847 news monitor posts (including translations) aggregating breaking news stories.
• About a quarter of LJR articles were republished by sites like GIJN, MediaTalks, IJNet, IDL-Reporteros, La Patilla and Prensa Comunitaria.
• More than 65 academic articles and reports, such as from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, cited LJR 106 times, and LJR stories were mentioned more than 100 times in other media articles and newsletters, such as from Nieman Reports, Reuters Institute, and Nieman Lab.
• LJR’s monthly site traffic increased by nearly 18%, to about 52,571 pageviews per month during the year.
• Find LJR’s top stories of 2025 here.
• Follow LJR on social media: Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram.
• Sign up here for the LJR weekly newsletter.

ISOJ 

The 26th International Symposium on Online Journalism (ISOJ), the Knight Center’s flagship event, was held at UT-Austin and streamed worldwide March 27-28, 2025. One of the only global conferences to bring together media executives, journalists and scholars, ISOJ helps set the agenda for discussions about innovation and the future of journalism in this ever-changing digital age. Offered in-person and online, ISOJ is fully bilingual, providing simultaneous interpretation from English into Spanish. In 2025, ISOJ’s program tackled questions related to AI in the newsroom and corresponding risks and challenges for transparency and credibility, the role of journalism in countering polarization and misinformation at a time of growing authoritarianism and threats to democratic principles like press freedom, and other pressing issues facing journalism today. Below are some of the key highlights:

• 71 speakers from 18 countries.
• Nearly 900 attendees from 58 countries: 422 in-person and 455 online
• Keynoters included Katherine Maher, president & CEO of National Public Radio (NPR), whose appearance came just days after she defended NPR before Congress; Versha Sharma, then-editor in chief at Teen Vogue, who spoke on engaging younger audiences through politics and culture and a blend of trust and authenticity; and Terry Tang, executive editor of the Los Angeles Times, who spoke about editorial independence and financial hardships in legacy media.
• The opening keynote panel explored new philanthropic funding initiatives for local news—such as Press Forward’s $500M+, American Journalism Project’s (AJP) $180M+, International Fund for Public Interest Media’s (IFPIM) $50M+, and the Brazilian Journalism Support Fund’s $2M+—and featured Jim Brady, then-vice president of journalism at the Knight Foundation; Dale Anglin, director of Press Forward; Vanina Berghella, IFPIM’s regional director for Latin America & the Caribbean; Sarabeth Berman, AJP CEO; and Carolina Oms, director of partnerships and fundraising for the Brazilian Journalism Support Fund.
• In addition to three keynote speakers and the keynote panel, the program also featured a special session with Julie Pace, executive editor for the Associated Press, who discussed the AP’s suit against the U.S. government for being excluded from the White House press pool.
• The Google News Initiative offered three workshops, in English and Spanish, focused on AI tools for the newsroom.
• A special research breakfast paid tribute to late scholar and UT Professor Max McCombs, who developed the agenda-setting theory of mass communication.
• Sponsors included the Knight Foundation, Google News Initiative, IFPIM, Texas Global, American Press Institute,  John S. Knight (JSK) Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University, Moody College of Communication at UT Austin, the Council on Foreign Relations, Uber/Waymo and Yahoo News.
• Check out videos of all the 26th ISOJ sessions here.

The day after ISOJ, the Knight Center hosted the 18th Ibero American Colloquium on Digital Journalism, which this year was co-organized by UT Austin’s Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies. The Colloquium, conducted entirely in Spanish, brings together journalists and scholars from Latin America, Spain and Portugal to discuss the future of journalism throughout Iberoamerica:

• 28 speakers from nine Latin American countries.
• Panels spotlighted doing journalism in exile, press freedom, funding, sustainability, Latin American journalism research and more.
• Find recordings of the Colloquium here.

Other Events and Initiatives

In recognition of the 900+ Latin American journalists in exile because of the increasing threats to press freedom throughout the region, the Knight Center in November published the free Spanish ebook, “Journalism in Central America amid Democratic Backsliding.” In less than a month, the ebook has already been downloaded nearly 800 times.

As part of this focus on supporting Latin American journalism during these challenging times, the Knight Center also conducted two webinars, both of which are available to view: Voices in Exile: Journalism, Resistance and Resilience in Latin America and How does Central American journalism resist in the face of democratic backsliding? The former featured exiled journalists Carlos Fernando Chamorro, founder of Confidencial of Nicaragua; Luz Mely Reyes, co-founder of Efecto Cocuyo of Venezuela; and César Castro Fagoaga, co-founder of Revista Factum of El Salvador. The latter webinar, held in conjunction with the launch of the ebook about Central American journalism, featured ebook authors Daniel Villatoro and Manuel Alejandro Guerrero, and El Faro journalist Sergio Arauz of El Salvador, president of the Salvadoran Association of Journalists, and Mayorit Guevara, founder and director of La Lupa of Nicaragua.

The Knight Center also continued its financial and other support of Nicaraguan and Salvadoran journalists exiled in Costa Rica, as part of a two-year, $250,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Additionally, Knight Center researchers launched a project investigating audiences of exiled Latin American media.

Following on the success of its multilingual course and ebook on the role of digital content creators in journalism, produced in collaboration with UNESCO, the Knight Center was part of the panel “Digital content creators and journalists: Shaping the future of news together,” at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy, in April 2025.

Looking ahead

With 2026 knocking on the door, the Knight Center is cautiously optimistic about what the new year will bring. We know AI will continue to pose new challenges–and offer exciting opportunities– for journalists that the Knight Center will help them navigate, whether through new, cutting-edge courses, webinars with experts or LJR’s reporting on the latest developments. We also recognize that threats to press freedom from growing authoritarianism around the world will require our focus.

Whatever lies ahead, the next ISOJ will be sure to address it. Take note that ISOJ is moving to the fall! Stay tuned for more details.

As we wrap up the year, we hope you’ll continue to be a part of our Knight Center community in 2026. Before this year ends, we encourage you to consider making a charitable donation (tax-free in the United States) to the Knight Center. Your support makes a real difference–it is crucial for helping us keep our online training and resources affordable or free for journalists around the globe.

With all the current challenges facing journalism and democracy, we at the Knight Center are more committed than ever to strengthening independent, high-quality journalism and advancing press freedom worldwide. Thank you for standing with us and making an impact in 2025, and with your support, we can accomplish even more in 2026!

Thanks for being part of the Knight Center community, and we look forward to seeing you in person or online next year.

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