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PI Sources

The news industry in America is at a crossroads. While there are many great journalists producing important stories, confidence in the news media is at a historic low, thanks in part to repeated, "fake news" assertions by some elected leaders, disinformation, and a growing distrust of institutionsOn PI Sources, we talk to journalists about what it's like to work in this era and the challenges they face trying to keep people informed. The goal: To see the truth and report it. Oh, and there are funny moments too!

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Season 1, Episode 1: Justin Merriman

In the first episode of PI Sources, we talk to photojournalist Justin Merriman, who has traveled throughout the world to document pivotal events for the world’s leading publications. He is an independent photojournalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

After covering the Sept. 11, 2001 crash of United Flight 93 in Shanksville, Merriman committed to chronicling the U.S. military’s War on Terror. He followed this story across the United States and into the conflict zones of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

He also has covered life in Fidel Castro’s Cuba in 2002, India’s efforts to eradicate polio from its population, the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba in 2012, the 2013 conclave and election of Pope Francis in Rome, the second anniversary of Egypt’s revolution and subsequent unrest, Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the international political crisis that unfolded in Ukraine.  Most recently, he traveled the entire U.S. border with Mexico documenting issues on immigration. 

Merriman’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Time, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and publications across the globe. 

After years of overseas work, Merriman has turned his camera towards the places he calls home. Working extensively in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, he is working on telling the stories of the communities throughout the region and the issues that they are facing. 

Carmen Gentile

Postindustrial founder Carmen Gentile has worked for some of the world’s leading publications and news outlets including The New York Times, USA Today, CBS News and others. His book, “Blindsided by the Taliban,” documents his life as a war reporter and the aftermath of his brush with death after being shot with a rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan. He also is a board member of Industry’s Humanitarian Support Alliance. Reach him at carmen@postindustrial.com.

Season 1, Episode 7: Visual journalist Nick Childers

On this special episode of PI Sources, host Carmen Gentile talks to documentary filmmaker Nick Childers, before audience of students at the University of Pittsburgh. Nick, who also works with Postindustrial, went to Ukraine after Russia invaded the country in 2022 and began filming for an independent documentary and photographing the ...

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Season 1, Episode 6: Dr. Ayleen Cabas-Mijares, Marquette University

Ayleen Cabas-Mijares is a professor at Marquette University in Wisconsin, where she leads students in producing journalism that helps highlight solutions to problems. In this episode, Ayleen discuses how journalism can empower communities — and how she’s seen it in action in her native Venezuela.

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Season 1, Episode 5: Jim Brady, the Knight Foundation

Who funds the news? Jim Brady is vice president of journalism for the Knight Foundation, a leading nonprofit funder of journalism in the United States. Hear what he has to say about the state of the media — how startups are funded, and public trust in what they read. Brady’s ...

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