Deadline: January 31, 2018
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) at the University of Oxford is now accepting applications from journalists worldwide for the 2018 Reuters Institute Journalism Fellowship. This is an opportunity to develop your academic understanding of the media industry, improve your knowledge and focus on an in-depth piece of research away from the pressure of tight deadlines.
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism offers fully funded Fellowships to well established mid-career journalists from throughout the world. You will join a diverse pool of individuals from around the world including journalists, editors, broadcasters, columnists and freelancers. Fellowships may be for three, six or nine months covering one or two terms or a full academic year (October – June) respectively.
Activities
As a Reuters Institute Journalist Fellow you’ll spend one, two or three terms at the University of Oxford, one of the world’s leading universities, where you’ll:
- Attend seminars given by a diverse and high-level range of guest speakers who will share their insights into key industry trends and developments
- Work with an experienced supervisor, usually an Oxford academic, to produce a research paper which will be published and promoted by the Reuters Institute
- Visit world-class news organisations and gain insights into how they are approaching industry challenges. Previous visits have included trips to Thomson Reuters, The Financial Times, The BBC, The Economist and The Guardian
- Join trips to key UK cultural and political organisations and institutions. Previous destinations have included Oxfam, the House of Commons and Stratford-upon-Avon, home of Shakespeare
- Exchange ideas and experiences with a diverse and international peer group. Around 25 Fellows a year join us from high-level media organisations all over the world. Strengthen your network, develop a global set of contacts and gain insights into international trends and developments
- Benefit from the extensive learning facilities offered by the University of Oxford, including the world-famous Bodleian Library and access to various seminars and lectures across the university. You are also encouraged to engage with the university’s cutting edge specialist research facilities, including centres for African, Middle Eastern, South Asian, Eastern and Western European, Japanese and Chinese studies
- Be given visiting scholar status of Green Templeton College
Fellowship Funding
Awards may include travel expenses (including air travel economy class) and a modest living allowance. This arrangement is subject to variation. Spouses and partners (including with dependents) are welcome but under no circumstances will the Fellowship Programme pay the travel or living costs of visiting spouses or dependents.
Journalists on Fellowships from the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Mona Megalli, Wincott and Google will receive a monthly stipend of £2,000 for their living costs during their stay in Oxford, as well as covering travel costs within reason.
Available Funding
- Thomson Reuters Foundation Fellowships (open)
- Austria Press Agency (APA) – Alfred Geiringer Fellowship
- Fritt Ord Foundation
- Google Digital News Journalist Fellowship
- Helsingin Sanomat Foundation Fellowship
- Lion Rock Spirit Fellowship
- Mona Megalli Fellowship (open)
- Wincott Fellowship
Eligibility
- The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism offers fully funded Fellowships to well established mid-career journalists from throughout the world.
- Have a minimum of five years’ experience in any branch of journalism
- Demonstrate sufficient proficiency in English to be able to participate fully in the life of the Programme and write a research paper in English of publishable quality.
- Be an ambitious, high-achieving journalist with a high level of written and spoken English.
- Have a demonstrable desire to focus on a piece of research related to the media, which you will work on during your time at the Reuters Institute.
- Applications are accepted from freelance journalists, however they must be working journalists who plan to work as journalists after the Fellowship.
- Candidates who are carrying out a research project within one of the Reuters Institute of Journalism’s areas of interest will be given priority in the selection process.
Focus Areas
Priority will be given to journalists proposing research projects within the following four areas of focus:
- Journalism and Democracy – This encompasses projects exploring the functions of media in political information, engagement, and participation, the roles of journalism and other media and communication platforms in democratisation, the interplay of politics and the media, and public policies toward media.
- Business of Journalism – These projects are focused on the practices and effects of business / financial reporting, variations in practices around the globe, relationships between journalists and sources, and how coverage portrays and effects national and international economic and financial policies.
- Journalism Practice – These includes projects exploring topics such as the role of news and journalism in creating awareness and understanding of science and medicine, reporting of risk, business/financial reporting, relationships between journalists and sources, and on journalism affects public opinion and governmental policies.
- Media Policy – This incorporates projects investigating policies and proposed policies affecting media, such as structural and behavioural regulation of broadcasting, press regulation, pluralism policies, ownership controls, content regulation, taxation, and subsidies.
Other areas of research can be considered providing these are clearly related to the professional work of applicants and will lead to greater excellence in journalism.
Application
Please review the following steps to ensure the complete and timely submission of your application:
- Make sure you are eligible to apply
- Decide which fellowship funding you will apply for.
- Check the application deadlines.
- Prepare your application materials.
- Write the required research proposal and personal statement.
- Choose your work samples.
- Ask 2 people to write letters of recommendation.
- Complete the online application form, remembering to attach all the required application materials
Deadline for the Thomson Reuters Foundation Fellowship, and the Mona Megalli Fellowship is January 31st, 2018.
For more information, visit Reuters Institute Journalism Fellowship.
