Focus on Politics: Alumni Spotlight on Matthew Knott ('18 M.A. Politics)We are pleased to present a new story in our series about how Columbia Journalism School has been training students to become leading reporters on politics. As the 2020 U.S. presidential election campaigns ramp up and as political movements and diplomatic challenges around the world make for front page stories every day, the work of journalists is vital for informing the public about the issues at stake, the local and global impact of policies on peoples' lives, the veracity of politicians' claims, and the historical and social contexts for international and domestic conflicts. In this alumni spotlight, we are pleased to present a video featuring Matthew Knott, a 2018 graduate of the Master of Arts Program's Politics Concentration. Knott, a native of Australia, currently works as the North America Correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. In his role, he uses the skills that he developed at Columbia to explain U.S. political campaigns and political culture to a largely Australian readership. The Master of Arts Program, Politics Concentration trains experienced journalists like Knott to think more deeply about social and political affairs. The program is designed to add to students’ toolbox of skills by showing them the way in which social scientists approach a range of social, political and economic problems. Unlike a program in international affairs or political science, the program is geared specifically to journalists and all writing is journalistic. The in-depth immersion in the latest scholarship on politics produces better political journalists — ones who are comfortable drawing on expert research to produce stories of greater depth and nuance. In this short video, Matthew Knott discusses what led him to apply to the Master of Arts Program, what his academic experience was like at Columbia, what it's been like reporting about American politics for an Australian audience, and what issues he looks forward to covering in the 2020 U.S. election year. <br /><br /> "You do have moments in your career where you think, okay, I'm ready to make a change - I want to write about something else, or I want to write longer pieces, or write deeper pieces - because the day-to-day demands [of journalism] are, you know, everything is so fast now that you have to write many fast short pieces," he explains. "To come to Columbia and do a program like this is a way to think of how you can make your journalism deeper and more authoritative, so you can become a bit of an expert." "You do have moments in your career where you think, okay, I'm ready to make a change - I want to write about something else, or I want to write longer pieces, or write deeper pieces...," Knott explains. "To come to Columbia and do a program like this is a way to think of how you can make your journalism deeper and more authoritative, so you can become a bit of an expert." ______________ As you consider the possibility of furthering your career as a journalist at Columbia, please explore our website to learn more about Columbia Journalism School's faculty members, course offerings, and career development services. At Columbia, a top-tier journalism education can be within financial reach. Please visit our website to learn about our scholarship opportunities. If you would like to make an appointment to speak with an admissions counselor or sit in on a class, please email us at apply.journalism@columbia.edu.