The 2025 World Press Institute fellows will kick off their fellowship in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, followed by visits to several small towns across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. They will then travel to seven major cities across the United States, where they will engage with community leaders, business executives, political figures, policy experts, and fellow journalists.
This year’s program is set to address some of the most critical issues of our time: the evolving role of AI in journalism, the exploration of innovative business models in the fast-changing digital media landscape, and the complex shifting political realities that America is facing.
Here’s an overview of this year’s schedule:
September 5: Fellows arrive in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
September 7: Welcome reception with Minneapolis/St. Paul host families.
September 8: Orientation to the program with WPI Executive Director Zach Mullinax, WPI Program Director Camilla Bath, and others.
September 9-12: Three days of briefing and discussion of journalism and other issues with the University of Minnesota faculty, a visit to Minnesota Public Radio, and to Hubbard Broadcasting/ KSTP-TV. Fellows will also meet with Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim, the former head of a federal panel that declassified many of the documents about the John F. Kennedy assassination, and host a public forum on global elections. The fellows will also participate in a workshop on AI and the modern newsroom, led by WPI Program Director Camilla Bath.
September 14-18: The fellows will visit the picturesque town of Grand Marais, located on the North Shore of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota. During their stay, they’ll participate in a local community forum, explore the Gunflint Trail, and visit the Cook County History Museum and the Grand Portage National Monument Heritage Center. Later in the week, back in the Twin Cities, they’ll meet with Ed Luce from the Financial Times, engage with a foreign policy expert and former U.S. diplomat, Tom Hanson, and host a “meet the fellows” Zoom call with WPI alumni from around the world.
September 21-27: The week kicks off with visits to farm country and various agricultural organizations on the way to visit the Stanley Center for Peace and Security. Fellows will engage in meetings, participate in community forums, and tour the Living Building Challenge certified eco-friendly facility in Muscatine, IA. The fellows will continue onto Chicago, IL to wrap up the week with meetings at WBEZ, Northwestern Medill School of Journalism, the Global Affairs Council of Chicago and others.
September 28 – October 2: The fellows will be in San Francisco, CA, where they will visit new media companies, the Center for Investigative Reporting and Reveal, Substack, Google News, San Quinten prison’s media department, and policy experts at California universities.
October 2-6: Phoenix, AZ, where the fellows will explore Arizona politics in the key swing state, meetings with experts at Arizona State University, and a visit to the US / Mexico southern border to discuss trade and immigration.
October 6-10: Anchorage, AK, a new stop for WPI where fellows will visit the World Affairs Council of Alaska, Ted Stevens Center on Arctic Security, and also meet with local officials and policy makers.
October 13-17: Washington, DC, where the focus will be on President Donald Trump’s second administration and the changing face of journalism, including visits with the Washington Post, Politico, Axios, CBS News, the Foreign Press Center, the Heritage Foundation, and more.
October 20-25: New York City, NY where fellows will meet with a variety of news outlets, including The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, ProPublica, the Associated Press, and others.
October 26-30: Austin, TX where the fellows will explore Texas politics, polling and the media, with a visit to the Texas Tribune, meetings with political experts and the University of Texas academics, and a visit to cattle country outside of Austin.
October 31 – November 8: Back to the Twin Cities for a final week of activities with faculty and students at the University of Minnesota, host families, and WPI sponsors. A graduation ceremony and final banquet will be held on November 7, and the fellows will depart on November 8.