About the Fellowship
What the Fellowship Provides
Eligibility and Application Instructions
Who is eligible
Eligible projects
To apply
Budget Outline
Application Deadline
Due Date
Where to send applications
Selection Committee
NEW! 2008 Mini-Fellows
Past Mini-Fellowships and Mini-Fellows' Work
Since 1994, the Foundation has awarded over 100 mini-fellowships. Much of the reporting that resulted from the previous mini-fellowship programs can be found at the link above. Project topics varied widely, ranging from HIV/AIDS in Appalachia and South Florida to HIV/AIDS in Africa, Brazil, and Haiti.
ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP
Starting September 2007, the Kaiser Media Fellowships Program is launching a new program for reporting on global health issues. The program will award mini-fellowships to print, radio, television, and online journalists (including freelancers) to research and report on global health issues, with a particular focus on issues related to HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria. The purpose is to encourage in-depth reporting on the health, social, economic, political and cultural implications of major public health issues and on the response to these challenges. Awards of up to $10,000 will be given to journalists to cover travel and research expenses relating to a specific project of their choice for publication, broadcast, or online posting.
This program is for journalists working for English-language news organizations with target audiences in North America and/or Europe. Priority will be given to projects otherwise unlikely to be undertaken or completed, focusing on issues that have not been reported or are under-reported, and which have a high likelihood of being published/aired/posted and of reaching a mass audience. Reporting projects can be local or international in scope, but should focus on public health concerns – or responses – that are of global relevance.
WHAT THE FELLOWSHIP PROVIDES
Each fellow will be awarded up to $10,000 or a prorated amount based on individual project needs, to cover travel and research expenses. Applicants will need to submit a budget outline broadly defining the costs associated with their proposed project. See below for more on the budget requirements.
Reporting should be undertaken and completed by December 2008, and will be posted on the Kaiser Family Foundation’s websites subject to copyright permission. Fellows are expected to negotiate such permission.
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ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
Who is Eligible
This program is for journalists working for English-language news organizations with target audiences in North America and/or Europe. For example, this would include an African journalist reporting for a British news organization; or the Delhi bureau chief of a Canadian newspaper. There is no age restriction.
Selection for the fellowships is highly competitive. Fellows are selected by an international committee of editors primarily on the basis of previous and potential work, on the applicant's demonstrated commitment to reporting on health issues, and on the committee's determination of which candidates would benefit most from this program.
Eligible Projects
Giventhe focus of this program on global health issues, the scope of eligible topics is inherently very broad. Note that priority will be given to projects addressing some of the many implications of HIV/AIDS, TB, and/or malaria. Also bear in mind that reporting on global health issues can be very locally focused, and international travel is not a requirement or necessity for a project to be selected. For example, an applicant from Toronto could write about a local university medical team/church/NGO group’s work on malaria prevention in Africa. A U.S. journalist could compare HIV/AIDS prevention efforts among teens in their community with those in South Africa; or could track how effectively PEPFAR money is being dispersed.
To Apply
The application deadline for the 2008 program has passed please check back in late 2008 for the deadline for the 2009 program.
There is no application form. To be considered, mail the following materials to the executive director*:
- A detailed letter describing your reasons for applying; your career goals; a short outline of the reporting you would want to complete; and what you would aim to accomplish as a result of the fellowship
- A brief description of your news organization and its readership/audience
- Budget outline (see more details below)
- An estimated project timeframe
- Curriculum vitae or resume
- Where relevant, details of previous awards or fellowships
- Examples of recent work (work samples will not be returned to applicants)
- Print applicants: 5-8 clips. Original clips should be pasted or photocopied on to standard 8.5”x11” or 11”x17” paper (applicants may submit an original copy along with the mounted copy). If clips are reduced in size to fit the page, they should be legible. Special paper, margins, etc. are not necessary. Most importantly clips should be clean and clear, easy to photocopy and able to fit in a standard file folder.
- For photographs, please submit regular prints and/or photocopies – no slides.
- Television applicants: please send DVDs or VHS tapes in NTSC – not PAL – format.
- Radio applicants: please send CDs or cassette tapes. Please label each piece with your name, program title, running time and date aired.
- Internet applicants: please send your clips in hard copy format, printed from your website, in addition to providing website links.
- One or more letters of support from other journalists familiar with your work, including a letter from your current senior editor or news director supporting your application (freelance journalists should send a letter of support from an editor, producer or colleague familiar with your recent work). Letters can be emailed directly to Penny Duckham (pduckham@kff.org) or included in your application file.
* All applications must be mailed in hard copy. An email version of your application can be sent in addition, but not as a substitute.
Budget Outline
Applicants should describe broadly which parts of their project would require funding from the fellowship. List the various categories associated with the cost of the project—such as travel (air, train, car), accommodation, meals, production, translation, editing, telephone, and/or project materials—and provide an estimated cost for each category. For example, travel to abc countries, states, or cities to interview abc projects or experts, at an estimated cost of approximately abc dollars (or other currencies); accommodations and meals in abc countries, states, or cities at an estimated cost of approximately abc dollars (or other currencies);
Where possible, the fellow's news organization will be actively encouraged to supplement the fellowship award.
Note that the maximum amount for the award is US$10,000; projects requiring less money will receive special attention.
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APPLICATION DEADLINE
The deadline for the 2009 program will be in October 2008. Please check back here closer to that time for the specific date.
Applications must be sent to the following address:
Penny Duckham
Executive Director
Kaiser Media Fellowships Program
Kaiser Family Foundation
2400 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
USA
Email: pduckham@kff.org
If you have further questions about the fellowship or would like to clarify any of the application requirements, please send an email to mediafellows@kff.org before you submit your application materials.
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SELECTION COMMITTEE
An international committee of editors makes the final selection of fellows and helps developing the fellowship program to its full potential.
- Greg Branch, Managing Editor, BET News
- Johnny Grimond, Foreign Correspondent, The Economist
- Raul Ramirez, News & Public Affairs Director, Executive Producer, KQED Public Radio
- Tina Rosenberg, Writer, The New York Times Magazine
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