Alex Newman

Alex Newman is a former executive editor of PRI.org.

Alex Newman is a former executive editor of PRI.org.

She joined The World in 2017 as a data journalist and also served as deputy editor for the digital team. 

Previously, Alex worked on the interactive team at Al Jazeera America, where she was responsible for special projects using audio, video, data or graphics (or all of the above) and was the editorial lead for AJAM's award-winning mobile app. She also worked at the Pew Charitable Trusts, Home Front Communications, USA TODAY and the Reno Gazette-Journal. 

While at USA TODAY, Alex was the lead producer for a daily webcast from the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games and shot video for a documentary covering the 2008 presidential inauguration. At the Reno Gazette-Journal, Alex worked as a police reporter and helped report an award-winning project about the dangers of methamphetamine. 

Alex has taught online and interactive journalism classes at the City University of New York, American University, the University of Maryland and the University of Nevada, Reno. 

She grew up in Reno, Nevada (pronounced Nev-AD-a, not Nev-AH-da) but has since lived in Washington, DC, New York City and Boston. She lives with a 25-year-old Hermann's tortoise named Captain Ahab and really likes bicycles. 

Several men wearing hard hats work together to carry an injured man

On World Press Freedom Day, 'a wake-up call' as violence toward journalists rises worldwide

As the world marks World Press Freedom Day, those who track threats against journalists say the global climate is a grim one.

On World Press Freedom Day, 'a wake-up call' as violence toward journalists rises worldwide
The statue of liberty and an American flag are on a blue sky, with words in Russian at the bottom of the image.

A guide to Russian ‘demotivator’ memes

A guide to Russian ‘demotivator’ memes
In this cartoon, a young boy is swinging from monkey bars and a piece of paperwork from Immigration is at his right

As US ends immigration programs, a mother and son wonder if they'll ever be together again

As US ends immigration programs, a mother and son wonder if they'll ever be together again
A woman holding a baby waits in line, above an open helping hand is extended.

Make your way through the maze of seeking asylum in the US

Make your way through the maze of seeking asylum in the US
In this cartoon, a frowning boy in a pointed birthday hat sits in front of a cake with '21' written on it.

You're a young student and your visa is tied to your parents. You're about to age out. What do you do next?

You're a young student and your visa is tied to your parents. You're about to age out. What do you do next?
A woman is leaning on a fence, gazing over the water toward the Statue of Liberty

Follow along: Forms, fees and an interview for a US Diversity Lottery Program 'winner'

President Donald Trump is calling for an end to the Diversity Visa Program. Millions enter, but only 50,000 'win' each year. Here's the story of one person who 'won'.

Follow along: Forms, fees and an interview for a US Diversity Lottery Program 'winner'
A pink sign reading, "The future is female" is hoisted above the crowds of marchers, some of whom are wearing the signature pink pussy hats.

Marchers: ‘I want to stand with my sisters’

Protesters in New York share their thoughts about what makes the march different this year and why they participated.

Marchers: ‘I want to stand with my sisters’
A man sits at a sewing machine table and sews a blue plaid button up shirt. In front of him sits a large pile of identical shirts.

How do consumers make good choices about clothes? Spider silk and brand transparency.

We know that fast fashion is polluting the Earth, clogging landfills and underpaying workers. What can consumers do to make better choices?

How do consumers make good choices about clothes? Spider silk and brand transparency.
Women commuting

Wear and Tear series: The women who make our clothes

Across Women’s Lives’ “Wear and Tear” series traces the roots of women in the garment industry from textile mills in North Carolina to sweatshops in Los Angeles to crowded factories in Bangladesh, where the memory of the deadly Rana Plaza disaster lingers but real change has been slow.

Wear and Tear series: The women who make our clothes
This logo says 'How fair is your fashion' in red letters

How fair is your fashion? Take the quiz.

Fast fashion is polluting the world's air and water, filling landfills and overworking and underpaying workers. How does the shirt on your back contribute?

How fair is your fashion? Take the quiz.
Hundreds of people are gathered in a room. Some are seated at tables and have water bottles, some pillow or blankets with them. A large screen is set up to broadcast news about Tropical Storm Harvey.

A looming immigration law is hurting Houston’s ability to help undocumented residents in wake of Harvey

What's happening in Texas is part of a larger national debate about how local and state law enforcement policies can affect public safety.

A looming immigration law is hurting Houston’s ability to help undocumented residents in wake of Harvey
illustration of people being stamped by immigration related words

Their lives are changing because of Trump’s immigration policies. Here’s how.

We're following the stories of individuals as they navigate the policy and ideological shifts happening during the Donald Trump administration. From an undocumented immigrant to a Nobel Prize winner, here's how immigration affects people.

Their lives are changing because of Trump’s immigration policies. Here’s how.
Lindsay Smith Zrull carefully places a glass plate photograph of the sky on a lightbox in the Plate Stacks room at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

A team of women is unearthing the forgotten legacy of Harvard’s women ‘computers’

An archivist found more than 2,000 notebooks left behind in Harvard University storage for 50 years. Now, she’s working to make sure the notebooks from Harvard’s first women astronomers are available to the world.

A team of women is unearthing the forgotten legacy of Harvard’s women ‘computers’
Global Terrorism Database

What does a day in terrorism look like?

Terrorism is disproportionately concentrated in just a few places in the world. Last year, more than 75 percent of terrorist attacks took place in 10 countries.

What does a day in terrorism look like?
aerial photo of large complex in foothills

A new government report is on hold because of errors — and now we know even less about immigration enforcement

Immigration officials are halting publishing a weekly report that names cities that don’t comply with requests to hold people beyond their release dates. They had published three reports — all with significant errors.

A new government report is on hold because of errors — and now we know even less about immigration enforcement