John Hammontree, 37, executive producer of podcasting for the Alabama Media Group, has earned a coveted spot as a Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard fellow.

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard educates leaders in journalism. Fellows audit classes across the university, collaborate with scholars and students at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and participate in Nieman seminars and workshops.

During his time as a Nieman Foundation Fellow, Hammontree will study the rise of sports media and influencers and their effect on young men and the spread of misinformation.

“When I look at my fellow fellows, I am humbled by all of all of the work that they’ve been doing…They’ve been covering so many things on a global scale. I’m honored to be able to represent Alabama in that mix of people to try to tell our story as best as I can,” Hammontree told AL.com.

Hammontree will be among 21 other industry leaders representing nine countries around the world as members of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard fellowship class of 2026.

The new cohort includes reporters, editors, producers, podcasters, multimedia journalists, a news anchor, columnist, audience development manager and data editor.

During two semesters of study at Harvard University beginning this fall, the new fellows will research topics including climate change, war crimes, cryptocurrency, misinformation, immigration and AI applications for newsrooms.

“Nieman is proud to support these talented journalists, especially at a time when there is a growing need for fortifying the free press. These fellowships are an investment in their future and evidence of our commitment to strengthening journalism leadership in the U.S. and abroad for nearly nine decades,” Nieman Curator Ann Marie Lipinski said in a statement.

Hammontree grew up in Birmingham and said he is proud to bring resources back to the city.

Hammontree joined Alabama Media Group in 2015 as an editorial writer and managed guest opinion prior to co-founding the Reckon News brand, whose team launched video series, podcasts and newsletters, and earned premier national awards, including a Pulitzer Prize.

At its peak, Reckon had 250,000 subscribers across its suite of newsletters.

Hammontree developed and produced four narrative series for AL.com and Reckon, including the Murrow Award-winning series, Unjustifiable.

Today, Hammontree produces Down in Alabama, a daily news podcast where he helps listeners understand big picture ideas through historical analysis, policy deep dives and conversation.

He also produces Beat Everyone, an Alabama football podcast which reached #12 on the Apple Podcast charts for all football podcasts.

John is a two-time winner of the International News Media Association’s award for Best of Video, a winner of the Green Eyeshade Award for Best Editorial Writing in the Southeast and a finalist for the Scripps Howard Award for Opinion Writing.

He said he looks forward to learning more at Harvard.

“I’m excited to be able to go up there and learn about that topic, but also learn from all these experts and these great journalists around the world,” Hammontree said.

“The chance to tell Birmingham’s story on a national stage, and then to go learn from these journalists around the world and bring those resources back to Birmingham is very important to me.”