Chilean journalist and Columbia alumna Francisca Skoknic (SIPA’13) has received the Lenka Franulic Award 2021. Established in 1963 in honor of Chile’s first female journalist, the distinction is awarded annually by the National Association of Women Journalists of Chile (AMPE) to recognize achievements among Chilean female journalists.
Skoknic has covered politics, social issues and economics for several Chilean newspapers and magazines, being deputy director of the Chilean Center of Investigative Journalism, CIPER, and the director of Universidad Diego Portales’ School of Journalism. In 2017, along with fellow Columbia alumna Andrea Insunza (JRN’13), she founded LaBot, an investigative journalism platform that researches stories and includes a news chatbot and a newsletter. In October 2021, LaBot was one of the two Chilean media that broke the Pandora Papers investigation, which worldwide leaked 11.9 million documents exposing the offshore activities of leaders, celebrities, and billionaires, with Skoknic leading the Chilean chapter of the global investigation.
Skoknic holds a Journalism degree from Universidad Católica, and a Master in Public Administration from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), where she specialized in economic and political development as well as international media.
