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Award-winning journalist Charles Sennott is no stranger to the front lines of war. He's reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, and more recently, the January 25 "Revolution in Cairo." His biggest battle these days is to lead the next generation of correspondents to report on issues of global importance—climate change, income inequality, youth unemployment, and joblessness—for his multiplatform online pub- lication, The GroundTruth Project. He earned his chops as the Boston Globe's Middle East bureau chief and went on to cofound the inter- national news website GlobalPost. Now, with The GroundTruth Project, Sennott is creating a worldwide resource for international affairs through documentary film, podcasts, and enterprise journalism, all based out of WGBH-TV studios, where he also serves as a news analyst. What is your ultimate vision for The GroundTruth Project? Our idea is to get millennial correspondents focused on the stories that will have the greatest impact on their generation. We are doing a three-year initiative on climate change in which we will take five top young reporters to cover the climate change summit, COP 21, in Paris. We are also producing a series called Generation T.B.D. Millennials are facing an uncertain global economy, and that series cuts across a lot of different themes— unemployment, income inequality, and the future of refugees. Finally, religion is some- thing that animates a lot of young people, whether that's the young people following Pope Francis or young Muslims inspired by extremism. We need to understand religion the same way we need to understand the economy or climate change. But how can we report on it in a way that young people find the stories accessible? How is The GroundTruth Project funded? The biggest investment in international reporting comes through PBS and public media—especially WGBH here in Boston. WGBH supports programs like PRI's The World, which just acquired GlobalPost. I am really happy about that. The GroundTruth Project is funded by a blend of foundations, including the MacArthur Foundation, the Ford Foundation, The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Henry Luce Foundation. Equally important are individuals. There are many people in our country who want to see their money go to good things. What do you think is the future of media? We live in a revolutionary moment for media. One of the exciting things is that you can take a small news organization, like The GroundTruth Project, and through a distribution model your work has an unbe- lievable audience reach that puts you in the highest realms of publishers. We have a great opportunity, but we also have an obligation to teach young journalists how to do it right. Go where the stories are about the extremely great moment we live in, and find those people who are seeking solutions to these problems. thegroundtruthproject.org BC left: During his tenure at the Boston Globe, Charles Sennott listens to local tribal chiefs talking with an Afghan military commander in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. right: Photographer Gary Knight (left) and Sennott with a security detail of Afghan National Army soldiers. The New Journalism AwArd-winning journAlist And entrepreneur Charles sennott lAunches his biggest story. by lisa pierpont photography by Michael casey (portrait); Naqeeb (KNight); gary KNight (coMMaNder) CULTURE Thought Leader 56 bostoncommon-magazine.com