Deadline: July 10, 2024
Applications are open for the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Data Fellowship 2024-2025. The Data Fellowship offers journalists an opportunity to transform their reporting by training them to “interview the data” as if it were a human source. Equipped with the tools to find original sources of information and perform data analysis, Fellows graduate from this hands-on training program prepared to produce in the five months that follow either a major investigative or explanatory health reporting project or a series of individual data-driven health stories that focus on issues important to their communities.
This program offers training on data acquisition, cleaning, analysis and visualization led by some of the most skilled data reporters and journalism practitioners in the nation. They teach journalists how to “bulletproof” their data, ensuring accuracy in reporting. Following the training week, Senior Fellows mentor reporters as they pair original data analysis with compelling narratives on underlooked health issues.
Benefits
Admitted Fellows receive:
- A $2,000 stipend to defray reporting costs
- One week of extensive, hands-on training in beginner, intermediate or advanced Excel or R-Studio
- Five months of professional mentorship
Fellows also are eligible to apply for professional mentorship in engaged journalism and $1,000-$2,000 to support those creative efforts.
Eligibility
- Open to U.S.-based professional journalists writing for U.S. media outlets. Students are not eligible to apply.
- Freelancers are welcome to apply, but they must have a confirmed assignment with an outlet to be considered for acceptance. This includes a signed editor checklist and letter of recommendation. Freelancers (and editors at outlets) should know that the reporting stipends are not meant to substitute for regular freelance pay. Instead, those funds can be used for reporting expenditures such as travel, database acquisition and translation.
Application
Applications will include:
- A Personal Statement and Project Proposal: This document should include a description of the project applicants are pursuing and demonstrate that the journalist has done at least enough reporting to know that the topic constitutes a substantial project.
- Deliverables Statement: This document must include the number of stories you’ll be reporting, and tentative story themes or focus, including any multimedia elements you plan to incorporate (photos, video, audio, graphics, etc.).
- Proposed Budget: They require Fellows and Grantees to provide them with a grant amount they are requesting and a rough breakdown of how they plan to use the funds.
- Clips: Three samples of your most recent work
- Letter of Reference from an editor
- Signed Editor Checklist
- Resume
For more information, see FAQ and visit Data Fellowship.
