Ande Natta
“Leadership is action, not position. It's more important to do the work than it is to get the accolades.”
André Natta puts his journalistic talents and connections to work addressing social problems. He is most recently the project editor for Broke in Philly, a collaborative of more than 20 local news organizations that provide in-depth, nuanced and solutions-oriented reporting on the issues of poverty and the push for economic justice. Broke in Philly is a project of Resolve Philly, which is in turn supported by foundations like the Lenfest Institute for Journalism. In fact, André spent time at Lenfest as part of their Local Lab, a multidisciplinary product and user experience team. Before that, he spent 10 years maintaining The Terminal, an independent news site he founded in Birmingham, Alabama.
A 2018 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow, André understands how context and framing help ensure that information is delivered clearly. A native of the Bronx, André has been a columnist for the Poynter Institute, which champions freedom of expression and civil dialogue for a healthy democracy, and a digital news producer for affiliates of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and NPR. In each of these roles, André asks what can be done to advance the needs of a community and of society. And then he asks his cat, Pete, if he can have the use of his home office.
Where do art and your discipline meet?
“I think art has long helped me understand context and framing, two important elements in making sure information is delivered clearly. It is powerful and able to communicate many things to many people, even things you're not necessarily intending. I believe it's essential to how we plan to share actionable news and information with others as the profession continues to necessarily evolve to not just serve those in power, but those in society as a whole.”
What does leadership mean to you?
“I've long used former Westinghouse Broadcasting Company president Donald McGannon's definition of leadership as a guide, "Leadership is action, not position." It's more important for one to do the work than it is to get the accolades and the notoriety. What can be done to advance the needs of a community? Of society? How can we make it happen? How do I get out of the way once the tools are made available and provide support when needed? The ability to do these things while listening to learn what one doesn't know is leadership.”
Biography:
When he’s not negotiating with his cat, Pete, about the use of the home office, André Natta is Resolve Philly’s project editor for Broke in Philly: a reporting collaborative project on economic mobility. He previously served as editorial director of the Lenfest Local Lab at the Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Andre started and maintained the local independent news site, The Terminal, in Birmingham, Ala. for more than 10 years. A 2018 John S. Knight Journalism Fellow, he’s previously worked in both hospitality and economic development in Alabama and Georgia and been a columnist for the Poynter Institute and B-Metro Magazine. The Bronx, New York native also served as a digital news producer for both the Southern Education Desk, a Corporation for Public Broadcasting funded regional journalism collaborative, and NPR member station WBHM.