Deadline: July 12, 2024
Applications are open for the LaunchPad Fellowship 2024 for NextGen Journalists. The nine-month fellowship program is designed for early-career journalists from all media platforms who have the skills, expertise and desire to tackle an ambitious in-depth reporting/storytelling project on a critical social justice issue facing the U.S.
Fellows will work independently to conduct research, interviews and other reporting/producing activities needed to complete their proposed project. They will be challenged to delve deeply into their selected issue; to explore its real and human impact on the nation’s historically marginalized communities; to expose the systemic drivers that contribute to the problem; and to explore possible remedies and solutions.
Benefits
LaunchPad Fellows will receive:
- A $5,000 grant to offset living expenses while conducting their research and reporting.
- An intensive, three-day in-person learning/training experience.
- Skills-building webinars throughout the fellowship year.
- Nine months of professional/project mentorship and coaching.
Eligibility
They are looking for talented early-career journalists from diverse backgrounds who have a demonstrated commitment to journalism and community storytelling through the lens of racial equity and social justice. Those employed by a news organization, as well as freelance/independent journalists, are encouraged to apply.
Specifically, the ideal applicant will:
- Have at least three and no more than six years of professional journalism experience, either sequentially or cumulatively, in any medium (e.g., digital, print, video, audio, photo, multimedia).
- Demonstrate an interest in and commitment to covering social justice and equity issues and to reporting in underserved local communities.
- Have a publication plan. (You are required to provide a letter of support from your employer or, if a freelancer, a “letter of interest to publish” from a news outlet, before being accepted into the program.)
- Be committed to and practice ethical and principled journalism, which is accurate, fair and thorough.
- Demonstrate a serious intention to pursue a career in journalism.
- Apply as an individual—not as a team or on behalf of a news organization.
- Reside in the United States.
Application
You would need the following to apply:
- A brief description of your proposed project.
- A letter of interest and/or a commitment to publish from an editor of a news outlet (e.g., your current employer or, if you’re an independent journalist, from a news outlet).
- A reporting/production plan and, if you have it, a budget.
- Three samples of published work (any medium).
- Two professional references.
- Your résumé.
For more information, visit LaunchPad Fellowship.
