Walter Ratliff is an American journalist and religious studies scholar based at the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Education

Ratliff earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and religious studies from the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...

, a Master of Arts in communication from Wheaton College, a Master of Business Administration from

University of Maryland Global Campus The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC, formerly University of Maryland University College) is a public university in Adelphi, Maryland. It is the largest of the University System of Maryland campuses. Established in 1947, UMGC focuses on ...

, and a Master of Arts in Islam and Muslim–Christian relations and

Doctor of Liberal Studies The Doctor of Liberal Studies degree, abbreviated (D.L.S.), for the Latin Doctor Liberalium Studiorum, is an advanced academic degree offered by Georgetown University, Southern Methodist University, University of Memphis and other research unive ...

in religion and social movements from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Career

He began his broadcasting career at KLYT in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and his journalism career at

KOAT-TV KOAT-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, affiliated with ABC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on Carlisle Boulevard in Northeast Albuquerque, and its transmitter is located ...

. Ratliff has worked as a documentary consultant and researcher for German television, including

ZDF ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...

and

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plu ...

. At the

, he produced a series of documentary reports on Islam in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Great Britain’s immigrant community, and America’s prisons. He also won a "Beat of the Week" award for his work on AP's Pope John Paul II multimedia profile. In 2001, Ratliff pioneered the use of online video for the Associated Press in Washington, DC, becoming the first to produce reports from the company's Broadcast News Center. His online AP reports were regularly featured on the landing page of major news organizations, including the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' and

Yahoo Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...

News. Prior to joining AP, he covered Capitol Hill for Christianity Today, produced a documentary on Muslim-Christian violence in

Northern Nigeria Northern Nigeria was an autonomous division within Nigeria, distinctly different from the southern part of the country, with independent customs, foreign relations and security structures. In 1962 it acquired the territory of the British Nort ...

, and covered the funeral of executed human rights leader

Ken Saro-Wiwa Kenule Beeson "Ken" Saro-Wiwa (10 October 1941 – 10 November 1995) was a Nigerians, Nigerian writer, television producer, and environmental activist. Ken Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homelan ...

in the

Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...

region. He also worked closely with Arabs, Israelis and Europeans delivering news from the United States. In 2016 and 2018, he was awarded first place for national network news religion reporting by the Religion News Association. In 2011, he won a nonfiction gold medal in the Reader's Favorite book awards for ''Pilgrims on the Silk Road: A Muslim-Christian Encounter in Khiva.'' He was also the producer/director of the documentary, ''Through the Desert Goes Our Journey: The Mennonite Trek to Khiva,'' for which he won an Emmy Award from the

Heartland Heartland or Heartlands may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Heartland Bank, a New Zealand-based financial institution * Heartland Inn, a chain of hotels based in Iowa, United States * Heartland Alliance, an anti-poverty organization i ...

chapter of the

NATAS The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) is an American professional service organization founded in 1955 for "the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, edu ...

. His most recent book is ''Between Faith and Power: Religious Freedom as Dynamic Engagement.'' Since 2011, Ratliff has been an adjunct professor at the

References

External links

*
Personal website

Profile at The Kansan.com

"Bethel Musicians’ Contribution Wins Emmy for Documentary" Bethel College News, July 20, 2010."Field Work Grounded in the Classroom," The Hoya, January 15, 2010
{{morecat, date=February 2022 Georgetown University alumni Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Living people Associated Press reporters Year of birth missing (living people)