NEW YORK, NY—Brendan Koerner, Senior Editor of U.S. News & World Report, and Jonathan Koppell, a writer and Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley were named Markle Fellows at the New America Foundation by the Markle Foundation today. The announcement was made by Zoë Baird, President of the Markle Foundation. Established in conjunction with the New America Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy institute based in Washington, DC, the Fellows program supports writers addressing issues relating to information technology and society.
The appointment of Mr. Koerner and Mr. Koppell represent part of Markle’s commitment of nearly $1-million over the next two years to support four Markle Fellows in the first year and five Fellows in the second year; each Fellow will a serve one-year term. The previous two Fellowships—to John Simons, most recently the Technology Policy reporter at the Wall Street Journal, and David Friedman, attorney, commentator and internationally published economics columnist—were announced earlier this year.
Brendan Koerner, who begins his fellowship on July 10, was Senior Editor at U.S. News & World Report, where he wrote on such subjects as higher education, business and technology and urban renewal. Jonathan Koppell, who began his fellowship in April, 2000, is a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. He has written extensively on efforts to reinvent government, the expansion of the Internet and the implications of the Internet’s growth for governance, and been published widely in academic journals as well as in The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and The Industry Standard.
Said Zoë Baird, “We are delighted to have Brendan Koerner and Jonathan Koppell join the Fellows program as they explore the implications of new technology as it impacts society. We need to understand the significant ways in which information technology is continually changing our lives, and we are pleased to support a new generation of public thinkers, writers and leaders as they tackle these critical issues.”
Ted Halstead, Founder, President and CEO of the New America Foundation, said, “The Fellowship program is doing the important work of providing some of today’s leading young thinkers with the intellectual and institutional support to examine the pressing issues being raised by new technologies and the new economy. We’re delighted to be adding Brendan and Jonathan to this group, as they continue to help shape the public debate on a broad range of topics at the intersection of technology and society.”
About Brendan I. Koerner
As Senior Editor at U.S. News & World Report, Mr. Koerner has written more than 100 articles, including six cover stories, on subjects ranging from higher education, urban renewal, business and technology, and religion. His cover stories include “A Lust for Profits,” a study of the Internet pornography industry, and “Can Hackers be Stopped,” a special report on cyber-attacks.
As a Markle Fellow, Mr. Koerner will use his insight into the digital underground to examine some of the most critical issues affecting the future of information technology and the new economy—including the commercialization of the Internet; the struggle over copyright and patent law; the ethics of free speech on the Internet; and the increasing concerns over cyber-security.
About Jonathan GS Koppell
A PhD. Candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, Mr. Koppell dissertation examines the government’s increasing reliance on public/private hybrid organizations, such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and federally-backed venture capital funds. Mr. Koppell’s work has been published in academic journals such as Public Administration Review and the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. He has also published articles in the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and is a regular contributor to The Industry Standard.
As a Markle Fellow, Mr. Koppell brings insights gained in his academic work to a broader audience through non-academic publications. In addition to continuing his work writing about the successes and failures of various efforts to “reinvent government,” he plans to examine the expansion of the Internet and its implication for the future of governance. In doing so, Mr. Koppell seeks to challenge many of the widely held assumptions about the public policy implications of the proliferation of information technology.
About the New America Foundation and its Fellowship Program
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute whose purpose is to bring exceptionally promising new voices and new ideas to the fore of America’s public discourse. The New America Foundation seeks to reshape our public debate by investing in outstanding individuals and ideas that transcend the conventional political spectrum. Based in Washington, DC, the New America Foundation was conceived through the collaborative work of a diverse and inter-generational group of public intellectuals, opinion leaders, and business executives. New America’s Board of Directors is chaired by James Fallows, and includes Eric Benhamou (Chairman & CEO, 3Com), Eric Schmidt (Chairman & CEO, Novell, Inc.) and Laura D’Andrea-Tyson (Dean of the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley).
Since its inception in 1999, the New America Foundation’s Fellowship Program has worked to train and support a new generation of young public intellectuals by helping them gain exposure for their ideas in the information marketplace. The Fellowship selection process is highly competitive and looks for those rare individuals who are not only exceptional thinkers, but who also have an ability to communicate in ways that gain broad public attention. All Fellows are appointed for a one-year renewable term.
