HARKNESS
FELLOWSHIPS TRUST
Harkness@100: Fellowship reignited my passion for journalism
By Peter Griffin
Watching Obama’s second inauguration from the Mall in Washington D.C., sitting in on editorial meetings with the team at the Center for Public integrity, or visiting the fusion reactor at MIT in Boston.
It’s hard to pick a highlight from my brief time in the US as a Fulbright-Harkness Fellow during the frigid winter of 2013. There were so many unforgettable moments collected during a fellowship that saw me roam all over the US.
These travels gave me a firsthand look at the world’s most innovative journalism organisations, which inspired me to reimagine what was possible for public interest journalism at home, particularly in important science-related areas like climate change, and environmental reporting. As I reflect on that experience—and my 12 years since as a trustee of the Harkness Fellowships Trust—it’s clear how profoundly those moments shaped my work and perspective.
Transformative Lessons in the US
During my time in the US, I visited centres of excellence like Propublica in New York, the Center for Public Integrity in Washington D.C., and the Center for Health Reporting in California. Seeing how Propublica broke major national stories in partnership with outlets like The New York Times and NPR made me realise the power of collaboration over competition among news organisations. At the Center for Public Integrity, I was struck by their dedication to tracking public money and exposing political influence, especially as new challenges like superPACs emerged to change the political landscape. The Center for Health Reporting further showed me how focused, well-resourced journalism could have tangible impacts on communities.
All these organisations worked differently, but they shared a commitment to tackling stories that truly mattered—often winning Pulitzer Prizes for their efforts. The experience highlighted for me how much more resourced investigative journalism was in the US and how partnerships between independent outfits and mainstream media could amplify the reach and impact of deep reporting.
Bringing Ideas Home
Returning to New Zealand, I wanted to apply the best lessons from my US trip. In my paper, “Big News in a Small Country,” published in Pacific Journalism Review, I looked closely at whether a similar centre for independent public interest journalism could work here. I understood our market was much smaller, with fewer major philanthropists willing to underwrite journalism on the scale I saw in the US.
Instead, I argued for a more grassroots approach. Rather than expecting large, anonymous donations, we’d need to build trust and engage the public directly on the issues they cared about. The idea for PublicEyes came from this belief—a not-for-profit initiative designed to be community-driven and transparent, tackling investigations that mattered most to New Zealanders. From environmental concerns to government transparency, I saw the importance of selecting projects that captured public imagination and buy-in.
After a year’s work on PublicEyes, we abandoned that effort, but my fellowship experiences allowed me to assist Rebecca Priestley in developing the charter for the Aotearoa Science Journalism Fund, which for several years funded high-quality public interest journalism projects in New Zealand.
Stewarding the Future
My fellowship also shaped my role as Director of the Science Media Centre, informing my approach to governance and maintaining high editorial standards. I didn’t leave the Science Media Centr euntil 2018, but it was the experience meeting dozens of working journalists that spurred my eventual return to journalism which I now pursue in outlets such as BusinessDesk and New Zealand Listener.
As a trustee of the Harkness Fellowships Trust, I’ve worked to support new fellows, encouraging them to pursue cross-border learning and to bring fresh thinking back to New Zealand. It’s been rewarding to help others build on the insights I gained from the US, and to see our emerging public sector leaders have incredible experiences and return from the US with actionable insights.
Shaping New Zealand Journalism
Today, public interest journalism faces existential threats, both in the US and New Zealand. My experience in the US and my ongoing work with the Harkness Trust have convinced me that even small countries can nurture ambitious journalism despite the challenges facing the industry—if we mobilise public engagement, creative funding, and learn from the world’s best.
Reflecting back, I see my fellowship as a catalyst: it gave me the vision, tools, and connections to push for meaningful change and to recommit to the profession I trained in.
Harkness@100: From Boston bagels to 9/11 – reflections of a Harkness Fellow
By John Hobbs
I undertook my Harkness scholarship over the 2001/02 period with two other New Zealanders, Rae Lamb, and Frances Hughes. My research was undertaken with the oversight of Professor David Bates of the Harvard Medical School.
I arrived in Boston in late August 2001 and found an apartment in the South End of Boston, which is a pretty swanky part of Boston. The best part of the day was prior to work when I would go to the Claremont Café across the street from my apartment before work. I would grab the New York Times, order a bagel, and cream cheese (lightly toasted) and a latte and sit down and read the news – this felt like bliss as I started my day.
My area of research was in the provision of e-health utilising various primary care innovations at the time, in particular the provision of doctor-patient health care via email. A defining moment of my Harkness was at our first get together as Harkness fellows at Harkness House in midtown Manhattan. It was early morning when someone came into the meeting room and whispered in Robin Osborne’s ear that a plane had gone into one of the Twin Towers.
We didn’t appreciate its gravity until that same person returned to say that one of the Twin Towers had collapsed. In shock, we went upstairs and witnessed the second Tower collapsing. Manhattan went into shutdown and I couldn’t get back to Boston for a few days. Rae used the opportunity to race down to Ground Zero to report on events from a New Zealand perspective. Frances and I went down to give blood the next day, but of course there was no need for blood.
Over the next year I was able to watch the US response to 9/11, attend many talks by people such as Noam Chomsky who were trying to make sense of the US response and its positioning in the world. At the same time I was doing research in a fabulous academic environment honing my research skills and in the process publishing four papers in peer-reviewed health journals. One of them related to the anthrax attack across the US trying to understand where people searched for trusted data on the risks.
This experience prepared me well to work within the health sector on my return. My main area of employment was in the Ministry of Health, which in turn provided me with the opportunity to work for three health Ministers and last, but not least, Minister Andrew Little when he was the Minister responsible for the response to the Royal Commission work on the Christchurch Terrorist Attack. I had been living in Palestine volunteering for Al Rowaad, a Palestinian NGO situated in the Aida Refugee Camp. It’s focus was on peace and conflict resolution through artistic expression. I studied Arabic in Bethlehem, Palestine; Amman, Jordan; and Beirut, Lebanon.
Building on my Harkness experience, I did a master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies (focusing on New Zealand’s foreign policy approach to the question of Palestine) and am now doing a PhD at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies | Te Tumu School of Māori, Pacific & Indigenous Studies, Otago University. My PhD is focussing on how a decolonised New Zealand foreign policy might reframe our approach to international affairs, reflecting on New Zealand’s approach to the question of Palestine. I have written opinion pieces in the Otago Daily Times, Newsroom and E-Tangata, drawing on my PhD study.
Without a doubt, my Harkness experience proved invaluable in developing my research skills. Just as important, it gave me a deeper insight into the US’s engagement in international affairs. I have been able to use this experience to undertake my own research in foreign policy much later on after my return to New Zealand.
John Hobbs has been a career public servant, working in a number of government departments (most recently the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet). He also worked for a number of Ministers on secondment from government agencies. He has a Master of Commerce (Hons) in Economics from the University of Auckland and a Master of Arts (Thesis) with Distinction in Peace and Conflict Studies, from the University of Otago. He is currently undertaking a PhD at the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Te Tumu School of Māori, Pacific and Indigenous Studies, Otago University.
References
The role of primary care non-physician clinic staff in e-mail communication with patientsInternational Journal of Medical Informatics
2004-05 | Journal article
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2004.02.004
Part of ISSN: 1386-5056
Contributors: A.F Kittler; J.S Wald; L.A Volk; L Pizziferri; Y Jagannath; C Harris; M Lippincott; T Yu; J Hobbs; D.W Bates
Source:
John Hobbs
Preferred source (of 2)
The Internet as a Vehicle to Communicate Health Information During a Public Health Emergency: A Survey Analysis Involving the Anthrax Scare of 2001
Journal of Medical Internet Research
2004-03-03 | Journal article
DOI: 10.2196/jmir.6.1.e8
Part of ISSN: 1438-8871
Contributors: Anne F Kittler; John Hobbs; Lynn A Volk; Gary L Kreps; David W Bates
Source:
John Hobbs
Communicating Health Information to an Alarmed Public Facing a Threat Such as a Bioterrorist Attack
Journal of Health Communication
2004-01 | Journal article
DOI: 10.1080/10810730490271638
Part of ISSN: 1081-0730
Part of ISSN: 1087-0415
Contributors: JOHN HOBBS; ANNE KITTLER; SUSANNAH FOX; BLACKFORD MIDDLETON; DAVID W. BATES; John Hobbs
Source:
John Hobbs
Opportunities to enhance patient and physician e-mail contact
International Journal of Medical Informatics
2003-04 | Journal article
DOI: 10.1016/s1386-5056(03)00007-8
Part of ISSN: 1386-5056
Contributors: John Hobbs; Jonathan Wald; Yamini S. Jagannath; Anne Kittler; Lisa Pizziferri; Lynn A. Volk; Blackford Middleton; David W. Bates
Harkness@100: Culture shock and curiosity – A Harkness Fellow’s journey across America
By Andrew Carstairs-McCarthy (former Professor of Linguistics at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch)
I was awarded a Harkness Fellowship by the UK Harkness Committee in 1969. This funded me for 21 months as a PhD student in linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. So I am hardly typical of Harkness beneficiaries resident in New Zealand today! Even so, I hope that what I say about my experience may strike a chord with other past or potential Fellows.
New Zealanders and British people have the English language in common with Americans. It can therefore be a shock to discover how far our cultures diverge. As a condition of my fellowship I was required to spend three months travelling around the USA.
I still have the diary I kept during that adventure. On 11 June 1970 I arrived by bus in Natchez, Mississippi. As I carried my rucksack on my way to a motel, a man stopped me in the street and asked me where I was from. On hearing that I was from London, he told me his son had married an English girl there. He understood that London was a large and impressive city. Why, then, had I come to Natchez? The notion of travel to broaden the mind was strange to him.
The next day I was stopped again by an intensely suspicious policeman. Hearing that I was studying at MIT did nothing to allay his suspicions. No doubt he recalled that, only a month earlier, two students had been shot dead by police at a college in the state capital, Jackson, while demonstrating against the Vietnam War. Eventually, however, my accent persuaded him that I was harmless.
The distinction between the USA’s coastal states (such as New York and California) and the ‘fly-over country’ between them is familiar. Alongside that is the attitude displayed by a fellow-student at MIT, who was horrified to hear that I was planning to visit some southern states during my bus trip.
For her, ‘the South’ seemed not merely culturally alien but also physically dangerous. Events of recent years should remind potential Harkness Fellows that the United States of America are united only in legal terms—and even that unity is perhaps now precarious.
HARKNESS 