Thatcher, Durben Selected for 2025 Carnegie-Knight News21 Project
Juniors Gracyn Thatcher and Alexa Durben, both journalism and media majors, will represent the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, this summer at the 2025 Carnegie-Knight News21 Fellowship at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
Two School of Journalism and Media students have been selected to participate in a prestigious national reporting initiative this summer.
Juniors Gracyn Thatcher and Alexa Durben, both journalism and media majors, will represent the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, this summer at the 2025 Carnegie-Knight News21 Fellowship at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
This is the second consecutive year UT students have been selected for the News21 fellowship, and the first time two UT students have been selected in a single year. Journalism major and current senior Pierce Gentry was selected last year.
“Alexa and Gracyn’s selection into this elite fellowship points not only to their drive, dedication, and recognition as journalists, but to have two students selected by News21 in a single year tells another powerful story, one that signals the rise of this journalism program into ranks being noticed by others,” said School of Journalism and Media Director Amy Jo Coffey, ”I attribute that to our incredible news faculty, many of whom are active journalists, and their dogged commitment to student success.”
News21 is a national journalism project and seminar that brings together top journalism students from across the country for a 10-week investigative reporting summer fellowship where students report and produce in-depth, multimedia projects for more than 100 news outlets across the country, including major news outlets such as The Washington Post, NBC News, and USA TODAY, on a specific topic.
This year students will focus on immigration and President Donald Trump’s promise to engage in mass deportations and implement other policies that would potentially affect millions living in the United States.
Fellows began planning, researching, reporting, and producing story pitches during the seminar this spring before they report to the News21 newsroom at the Cronkite School in downtown Phoenix this summer.
Thatcher sees this program as an opportunity to grow as an aspiring professional journalist through conducting impactful investigative journalism. Her mentors have always encouraged her to do more investigative journalism and the News21 program is an exciting opportunity to do just that, she said.
Thatcher is looking forward to reporting on issues outside of Tennessee, as most of her reporting experience thus far has focused on covering local community issues.
Durben is also excited by the prospect of working on a national-level investigative reporting project. She said it will likely be one of the most challenging things she does as part of her college career, but feels well-prepared by the various real-world experiences she has been a part of while at UT.
Both students can also expect alumni support as they prepare to travel to Arizona for the fellowship in the summer. College of Communication and Information alumnus John Williams (‘71) and his wife Patty have pledged their support and, as such, Thatcher and Durben will be known as the John and Patty Williams Fellows taking part in the News21 program.
Both Durben and Thatcher believe their acceptance into the fellowship is a testament to the school and college’s efforts in recent years to increase the quality of training for journalism and media students.
Thatcher said she wouldn’t be positioned to join News 21 without the mentorship of her professors and internship supervisors.
“I think it shows that our hard work is paying off as students but also recognizes all the work that our faculty have put into us,” Thatcher said.
Thatcher, Durben Selected for 2025 Carnegie-Knight News21 Project written by Ernest Rollins and originally published on the College of Communication & Information site.