API Announces Inaugural Recipients of International Fellowship

Recognizing Newspaper Leaders from Emerging Democracies, API will Provide Professional Development for Media Executives from Asia, Africa and Europe

Reston, Va., June 27, 2006 -- The American Press Institute (API) today announced the inaugural 10 recipients of the James H. Ottaway, Jr., International Fellowships. The goal of these annual fellowships is to improve the independent editorial content and the financial strength of daily newspapers in emerging democracies.

"For more than 60 years, API's has provided leadership development opportunities and discussion forums for all functions of the news enterprise and we take this mission seriously," said Andrew B. Davis, president and executive director of API. "We believe that a free press is essential to the development of democracy and free markets. As emerging democracies work hard to establish, maintain, and grow the influence and acceptance of a free press, it is important for us to encourage these efforts."

Aimed at publishers, editors and general managers with at least five years' experience, the 2006 Ottaway fellowships have been awarded to:

Arteh A, Abdillahi, Editor-in-Chief, La Nation, Djibouti, Republic of Djibouti
Faheen Dashty, Chief Editor, Kabul Weekly, Kabul, Afghanistan
Samuel U. Ibemere, General Manager, Publications; Champion Newspapers, Lagos, Nigeria
Ajoa K.V. Yeboah-Afari, Editor, Ghanaian Times Daily, Accra, Ghana
Duraid A. Al Baik, Foreign Editor, Gulf News Daily, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Aleksandra Moorast, Managing Editor, Linnalebt, Tallinn, Estonia
Philip Wesseh, Managing Editor, The Inquirer, Monrovia, Republic of Liberia
Alexey Anishyuk, Foreign Editor, Moskovski Komsomolets, Moscow, Russia
Sahr M. Yamba, Editor, Concord Times Communications, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Shinan Liu, Assistant to Editor-in-Chief, China Daily, Beijing, China

Fellowship recipients will attend one of API's executive-level programs with newspaper executives from throughout North America. The seminars include the Executive Development Program, a computer simulation that prepares executives for assuming leadership positions that will shape their companies' future; High-Performance Leadership, which focuses on key issues facing executives who need to inspire their staffs' individual efforts toward organizational goals; and Newsroom Leadership: New Directions for Executive and Managing Editors, a weeklong program highlighted by a day-long computer simulation, that provides participants with both strategic vision and practical solutions to the real-world challenges of managing change and serving readers across platforms.

James H. Ottaway Jr.
James H. Ottaway Jr. retired as a senior vice president of Dow Jones and as chairman and chief executive officer of Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. He continues to serve as a director for both companies. Born in Binghamton, N.Y., Mr. Ottaway earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University, where he was chairman of the Yale Daily News.

About the American Press Institute
Founded at Columbia University in 1946, the American Press Institute is a not-for-profit educational center that provides skills-training and leadership-development seminars for newspaper professionals. API is also the home of the Media Center, a research and educational program that facilitates strategic conversations and planning on issues shaping the future of news, information and media. Visit API online at www.americanpressinstitute.org or call 703.620.3611 for more information.

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Media Contact:
Gayle Armstrong
American Press Institute
11690 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA 20191-1498
703.715-3322