columnists

Mira Jang
Mira Jang is a Los Angeles-based journalist. She recently completed a multimedia fellowship with News21 in New York City. She is a former staff writer at The Orange County Register and The Long Beach Press-Telegram. Currently, she is working on a book of narrative non-fiction. Mira holds a M.S. in journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, where she was a fellow at the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism. She also earned a M.A. in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a B.A. in politics from Occidental College.

Matt Kennard
Matt Kennard is currently an assistant producer for Democracy Now!. A graduate of Columbia University, Kennard investigated the infiltration of the U.S. military by neo-Nazi’s, white supremacists and gangs. His masters thesis centered around a main character who spent 16 months in Iraq while being a probate for the Hammerskin Nation, the most violent neo-Nazi group in the U.S. He talks of the insouciance of his higher command to his racial extremism. This was combined with data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act which showed the changing dynamics of discharges from the military, and the termination of investigations into white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Kennard studied at the University of Leeds in the UK, gaining a 1st class degree in history. He won the Guardian Newspaper Student Journalism Award 2006 and undertook a spell at that newspaper which involved writing articles and collaborating on investigative projects. He has also spent time at the New Statesman, Bulb magazine in the UK. He also undertook a project in Latin America where he worked for the Buenos Aires Herald writing articles and interviews. He also updated a guidebook on Argentina.

Jason Walker
Jason Walker is from a small town in South Jersey you’ve probably never heard of and he has enjoyed maintaining the anonymity established in his hometown those many years ago. He graduated from Seton Hall University in 1999. His only qualification for being a part of TakingBackPolitics.com is having several friends working in various forms of media and spending a brief period working as a full-time artist. He has spent more time watching television and movies than 99 percent of the world’s population. He argues it is much more educational and useful than it is given credit. Jason does not look to change minds but only to challenge others to take into consideration all possible angles. He has many other interests but he is not devoted to any – choosing to call himself a renaissance man rather than non-committal. He’s held several blue collar, artistic and office jobs before settling into the world of finance. Currently, he is a financial analyst.