Sewell Chan

SOME PERSONAL NEWS: For the last year I’ve been working with a terrifyingly talented team to put together L.A. Material, a new local news outlet covering Los Angeles. We’re launching TODAY, so please check us out at lamaterial.com.

New: Statement from former executive editor Marty Baron: "This ranks among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organizations. "The Washington Post’s ambitions will be sharply diminished, its talented and brave staff will be further depleted, and the public will be denied the ground-level, fact-based reporting in our communities and around the world that is needed more than ever."

I spent today with @lorenzotug and @zakaria_m_z near Syria’s latest frontlines -- cherished, award-winning colleagues in the Middle East, who for years have helped me and the Post’s readers see and understand. The work is grueling, dangerous and vital. @JeffBezos #SaveThePost

Announcing the Spring 2026 Journalists in Residence (JIR) Program at @ChicagoBooth's Stigler Center! This program equips journalists from around the world with the tools to tackle complex global economic issues by fostering collaboration and engagement with the University of Chicago’s greatest scholars. Meet the cohort: • Hamza Azhar Salam (Pakistan) - The Pakistan Daily @HamzaAzhrSalam • Lía Barrios (Paraguay) - Paraguay Data @liabarriospy • Sewell Chan (US) - USC Annenberg/Former Texas Tribune EIC @sewellchan • Stevan Dojčinović (Serbia) - KRIK/Balkan editor for OCCRP @StevanOCCRP • Sohei Ide (Japan) - Kyodo News • Aude Kersulec (France) - France 24/BFM Business anchor @aude_ke • Kwetey Nartey (Ghana) - JoyNews @kweteynartey • Allen Wan (China) - Bloomberg News Stay tuned for insights from their time in Chicago! promarket.org/2026/01/26/ann…

Before he fled the Nazis, my great-grandfather fought for Germany in World War I. He was wounded and awarded the Iron Cross. In exile, he believed his homeland could be redeemed. I wrote about the return of German military power: theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/…

I’m honored to join @USC_CCLP as a senior fellow, an affiliation that will allow me to research and write on press freedom issues and to be part of a fantastic community of scholars and journalists. communicationleadership.usc.edu/2025/04/28/sew…

I can’t speak to the @CJR accusations. But @SewellChan just spent over an hour speaking to our @BaruchCollege journalism students (mostly Black, brown and low-income.) He was patient, kind, generous, inspiring. Also, best editors I ever had were tough & demanding. Just sayin’ …

And lastly:

Part 3:

Yesterday, I was fired by @Columbia. Here’s my statement, part 1:

From Marty Baron to Robber Baron: Jeff Bezos is heel-turning the Washington Post opinion section into the realm of the far right, by Andrew Rosenthal. cjr.org/analysis/jeff-…

⁦@sewellchan⁩ reminds us in ⁦@CJR⁩ that, “The press is the only profession explicitly mentioned in and protected by the Constitution; we will make use of that license, for as long as we can, in service of our democracy.” cjr.org/the_media_toda…

Having served as a Moscow correspondent in the early days of Putin's reign, this reminds me of how the Kremlin took over its own press pool and made sure that only compliant journalists were given access.

I’m just in awe of the @LATimes photographers who have been putting themselves in harm’s way all week to capture this harrowing moment in our region’s history. All the photos pictured here are from today’s paper and are by @WallySkalij, @GinaFerazzi @bvdbrug and @GenaroMolina47.

.@LATimes live fire coverage is non-paywalled. Support local journalism latimes.com/california/liv…

I'm looking to hire an Audience and Collaboration Strategist to join the @TexasTribune audience team. In this role, you’ll collaborate closely with our @propublica partners to amplify the impactful work of our investigative teams. texastribune.org/jobs/audience-…

Scoop: new details on @karaswisher long shot bid axios.com/2024/12/20/sco…

Tonight, I will attempt to pass the PRESS Act in the Senate. This bill would protect journalists against overreaching government surveillance. It would ensure reporters can’t be legally required to disclose sources or research files or hand over data held by phone and internet companies. This bill is bipartisan and passed the House. Senate Republicans should not get in the way.

NEW in @CJR: The story of the downfall Ozy Media, whose unraveling embodied the (widespread) excesses of the digital media startup era. A three-part podcast from @banikarim and @joshuahersh: cjr.org/kicker/the-unr…