WHAT IS THE CONTEXTS AND CONNECTIONS MEDIA FELLOWS PROGRAM?

The Contexts and Connections Media Fellows Program offers mid-career journalists who cover Islam and Muslims a four-week opportunity to broaden their knowledge of Islam, Muslim communities in the U.S. and the broader Muslim world, and contemporary scholarship about Islam, Muslims, and Muslim cultures. The program is a joint initiative of the Duke Islamic Studies Center (DISC), the DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy, the Duke University Center for International Studies (DUCIS), and the Duke Office of News and Communications.

This program is made possible by a grant from the Social Sciences Research Council as part of their Academia in the Public Sphere program, a program dedicated to ensuring that academic knowledge on Islam and Muslim societies informs public policy. We thank the SSRC for their support.

READ MORE ABOUT THE CONTEXTS AND CONNECTIONS MEDIA FELLOWS PROGRAM.

MEET THE CONTEXTS AND CONNECTIONS MEDIA FELLOWS

Fall 2009 Media Fellow Kevin Eckstrom and Professor Jen'nan Read at an October 2009 reception welcoming Kevin to Duke.

 

 

 

KEVIN ECKSTROM

The first Contexts and Connections Media Fellow, Kevin Eckstrom, is an editor at Religion News Service, a nationally syndicated secular wire service dedicated to unbiased coverage of religion. RNS is distributed to approximately 50 newspapers and 100 religious publications and websites. Kevin joined the RNS staff in February, 2000 and became editor in 2006. Prior to coming to RNS, he worked as religion editor at the Stuart/Port St. Lucie News in Florida. He was the winner of the 2000 Cassels Award for small newspapers from the Religion Newswriters Association. Under his leadership, RNS was named Best Wire Service by the Associated Church Press for both 2006 and 2007 – the only time RNS has won back-to-back years. Kevin, a native of South Easton, Mass., holds a M.S. from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and a B.A. from The George Washington University.

Kevin served as president of the Religion Newswriters Association and the Religion Newswriters Foundation from 2007-2009. He has provided media analysis for PBS, the BBC, MSNBC, CNN, FOX and various NPR affiliates. His work was featured in “Changing Boundaries: The Best Religion News Writing of 2003.” Read Kevin's most recent articles, Muslims Pray for Soul of America at Capitol and "Islam's Prophet Shrouded by Myth, Devotion."

During his time at Duke, Kevin will spend time researching the role of Sharia, or Islamic law, in Western democracies. He is also interested in researching the institution of marriage across religious traditions and historical contexts.