Deadline: August 31, 2018
Applications for the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships are open. These are six month professional fellowships offered once a year to professional journalists from developing countries and emerging markets. Friendly Fellows work full time at U.S. host news organizations while developing their journalism skills.
Alfred Friendly provides fellows with basic and advanced hands-on instruction at the Missouri School of Journalism and places them in leading U.S. newsrooms. Participants work as staff reporters in their host newsrooms and are required to develop training plans that they implement when they return to their home newsrooms. The all-inclusive fellowship starts in mid-March and ends in early September.
Program goals:
- To provide the fellow with experience in reporting, writing, editing, producing and editorial decision-making that will enhance future professional performance;
- To expose the fellow to the technological changes that are occurring in the industry;
- To enable the fellow to gain a practical understanding of the function and significance of the free press in American society;
- To transfer knowledge gained on the program to colleagues at home;
- To foster continuing ties between free press institutions and journalists in the United States and their counterparts in other countries.
The fellowship program:
In the conviction that a strong, free press is essential to the healthy functioning of a democracy, the late Alfred Friendly, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and former managing editor of The Washington Post, conceived a fellowship program that would both impart American journalistic traditions and respond to worldwide interest in the dissemination of fair and accurate news. It was Alfred Friendly’s belief that working side by side with reporters and editors is the best way to absorb the practical realities of journalism in this country and the instrumental role it plays in our society. Therefore, he created the program that bears his name to immerse journalists in American newsrooms. Since 1984 the Alfred Friendly Press Partners has trained more than 300 journalists from 80+ countries.
The fellowship program begins with a three-week orientation and training seminar at the Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, Missouri designed to prepare the fellows – both personally and professionally – for the challenges of living and working in the United States. At the middle of the program, fellows and staff come together to attend seminars focused on writing, editing, multimedia reporting and investigative reporting/Computer Assisted Reporting. A final seminar in Washington allows them to compare and evaluate their experiences and discuss their impressions of the American media, and to learn and practice presentations to make in their home countries to share what they’ve learned with colleagues.
Fellow Responsibilities
- The fellowship is a full-time training experience, and fellows are expected to conduct themselves in a professional and responsible manner.
- Fellows work between 35 and 50 hours per week for their U.S. host news organizations. Outside the newsroom, fellows are expected to give at least two talks in the community – at local schools, press clubs, community groups, etc.
- Press Partners also requires fellows to maintain a fellowship blog, detailing both their personal and professional experiences.
Benefits to Fellows
The fellowship covers all costs of program-related international and domestic U.S. travel, health insurance and provides a monthly stipend to cover basic living expenses. It is highly recommended that fellows bring additional money with them. While family members may visit for up to one month, they cannot accompany the fellow for the duration of the fellowship.
Working and living in another country is a challenge that fellows not only overcome but embrace. The benefits are personal as well as professional.
Friendly Fellows learn to:
- Improve skills in gathering information, interviewing and writing.
- Add social perspective to business and political reporting.
- Write more balanced news articles, more polished feature stories and more in-depth analytical pieces.
- Improve written and spoken English.
- Become more vigorous and confident journalists.
- Gain insight into American culture, business and politics.
Participation in the Friendly Fellowship enhances career development at home—future fellowships, promotions, new jobs, etc. Our fellows have gone on to become journalism leaders in their newsrooms and around the world.
During their time here, our fellows meet a wide range of journalists and newsmakers. Press Partners staff, Alfred and Jean Friendly Foundation Board members and the Friendly family are integral to the Friendly Fellowship experience. These personal ties last a lifetime.
Eligibility
- Early-career professional journalists from developing countries with proficiency in English can apply for a six-month fellowship.
- Applications should be 25-35 years old
- Applicants should have at least three years of experience as a journalist at a print, online or broadcast media outlet.
Application
Click here to apply for the General Fellowship
For more information, visit Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships.