RSJ student and recent graduate selected as IJB interns

A recent RSJ graduate and a current student have been selected as interns for the Investigative Journalism Bureau at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. 

Raneem Alozzi, who graduated from the School of Journalism last year and Naama Weingarten, who is in her third year of the program, will both be working with the Bureau over the summer. 

The IJB will provide Alozzi and Weingarten with a chance to pick up investigative techniques from top investigative reporters. The Bureau was recently named as a finalist for the CJF Jackman Award for Excellence in Journalism. 

This marks the second year in which current or former RSJ students will be working with the IJB. Last year, Charlie Buckley and Giulia Fiaoni were selected as interns. 

Alozzi credits her time with the Eyeopener for helping her to develop some of her research and investigative skills. She notes the IJB’s “incredibly important” work and impact as reasons for applying.

“I was really drawn to the idea of a collaborative newsroom and public-interest-driven journalism as that's always been at the core of pursuing journalism for me,” said Alozzi. “It was all the things I'm passionate about, offered in one place.”

Weingarten has been producing investigative documentaries since she was in high school. She says she’s looking forward to working with investigative reporters to create stories that “spark real change.”

“Sparking change is the reason I wanted to be a reporter to begin with, so it’s incredibly exciting knowing that my own research can potentially lead to tangible impact through the IJB.”

Both Alozzi and Weingarten say they’d like to go on to have a career in investigative journalism.

“Doing this has been my dream since I was a little kid watching investigative documentaries on television,” said Weingarten. “This internship is definitely a fundamental step in what I hope will be a long, exciting adventure as an investigative storyteller.”