Hilke Schellmann is an assistant professor of journalism at New York University and an Emmy-Award winning investigative reporter. As a freelance journalist, she is currently covering artificial intelligence and the world of work for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, MIT Technology Review and other media outlets. Using innovative tools, she focuses her reporting on unearthing systemic wrongdoing and its impact on vulnerable people. She recently reported a four-part investigative podcast series for MIT Technology Review‘s podcast In Machine We Trust and she is currently writing a book on artificial intelligence in the workplace for Hachette.
As an independent filmmaker, Schellmann shot, produced, and directed the investigative documentary Outlawed in Pakistan, which aired on FRONTLINE. The film was dubbed “among the standouts” at the Sundance Film Festival by the Los Angeles Times and called “extraordinary” by Variety. The documentary was recognized with an Emmy, an Overseas Press Club, and a Cinema for Peace Award and successfully played at prestigious film festivals such as IDFA, Full Frame, Thessaloniki Film Festival, and AFI Docs. Her investigation about student debt for VICE’s flagship news magazine VICE on HBO was a finalist for the Peabody Awards.
Schellmann’s work has appeared in several publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, VICE, HBO, PBS, TIME, ARD, ZDF, WNYC, National Geographic, Glamour, and The Atlantic. Prior to joining NYU, Schellmann was an adjunct professor and the Director of Video Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Schellmann was a Fulbright Scholar and holds an MS from Columbia University and an MA from Humboldt University in her native Germany. While in graduate school, she co-founded the nonprofit Center for Documentary Art UnionDocs in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and now serves on its advisory committee.
