Of the 27 Nieman Foundation for Journalism class of 2020 fellows announced Friday morning, two have University of Michigan ties. With selection for the prestigious fellowship, Matthew Dolan of the Detroit Free Press and Bridge Magazine’s Chastity Pratt will be on the Harvard University campus for the 2019-2020 academic year.
Pratt, who is currently an urban affairs reporter at Bridge Magazine’s Detroit bureau, will study government’s role in the destabilization of urban education and how multimedia storytelling can shed light on potential solutions. Pratt came to Bridge in 2013 after over a decade working as an education reporter for the Free Press.
She is a native Detroiter and a board member for the Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, but has also held various positions at Newsday, The Oregonian and The New York Times. Pratt holds a bachelor’s degree in English and communications from the University.
Matt Dolan, an investigative reporter at the Free Press, will study automation and transportation. He is a Baltimore Sun, Virginian-Pilot and Philadelphia Inquirer alum and worked at the Wall Street Journal’s Detroit bureau before coming to the Free Press. Dolan holds a bachelor’s degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from Cornell University and a master’s from the University’s Dearborn campus.
Dolan will investigate the effects of technological disruption in the auto industry and how this manifests in local communities. He is an Abrams Nieman Fellow, a program specifically rooted in local investigative journalism committed to supporting local and regional reporting in historically underserved communities. Dolan focuses on business, finance and public policy at the Free Press and is credited with co-leading an investigative project on the University’s endowment.
Ann Marie Lipinski, University alum and former editor of the Chicago Tribune, serves as the Nieman Foundation curator.