Ottavia Spaggiari

Ottavia Spaggiari serves as an Endowed Chair at Florida A&M University's School of Journalism & Graphic Communication (SJGC), teaching Social Justice Thought & The Media with office hours in SJGC Building Room 3036. Her career spans major international outlets including The Guardian, The New Yorker, Al Jazeera, and The New Humanitarian, with field reporting across Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and the United States.

Educational background:

• M.A. in Politics and Global Affairs (University of Bologna)
• M.A. in Film and Media Studies (University of Bologna)
• B.A. in Film Studies (University of Bologna)

Her work centers on Investigative Journalism and Narrative Journalism with deep engagement in Social Justice frameworks. Reporting spans human trafficking impunity, migrant exploitation, gender-based violence, and police brutality, characterized by immersive long-form storytelling that drives policy change—most notably sparking international reforms for Barolo vineyard workers' rights in Italy. She employs multilingual fluency (Italian, English, French, Spanish) to navigate complex cross-border investigations.

Award highlights:

• 2021 European Press Prize shortlist for human trafficking investigation in Italy
• 2023 Amnesty Media Award for exposing Belarus election crackdown
• Three Investigative Journalism for Europe grants

Spaggiari's institutional impact includes Columbia Journalism School fellowships, guest lectureships at La Sapienza University, and teaching roles at St. Joseph's University and City College of New York. Her Global Migration Project fellowship at Columbia underscores sustained engagement with migration policy, while her CNN International and Vita (Milan) experience demonstrates broadcast and digital media versatility. Current work focuses on systemic labor exploitation and transnational justice mechanisms.