Mini-fellowships/Reporting Grants from Annenberg

Two, week-long fellowships from Annenberg plus grant money for reported projects. Details below. -mia

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When: July 11-16, 2010 Where: Los Angeles Deadlines to Apply: May 5, 2010 and May 12, 2010

Step away from your daily routine to spend a week in Los Angeles exploring the intersection between community health, health policy and the nation’s growing ethnic diversity, as well as the role that factors such as race, ethnicity, pollution, violence, and transportation, land-use and food policy play in prospects for good health. You’ll come away from the experience with a multitude of story ideas and sources, plus a thorough grounding in the principles and practice of good health journalism – and funds to pursue a substantive health-related reporting project.

Based at USC’s Annenberg School of Journalism, The National Health Journalism Fellowships (deadline: May 12) and the Dennis A. Hunt Fund for Health Journalism (deadine: May 5) are open to print, broadcast, and online journalists from around the country. National Fellows receive meals, travel, and lodging plus a $2,000 stipend upon publication or broadcast of a major fellowship project. Dennis Hunt Fund grantees attend the National Fellowship seminars and receive reporting grants of $2,500 to $10,000 instead of the $2,000 stipend. Click here to help you decide which option is right for you.

http://www.reportingonhealth.org/which-fellowship-program-right-me

The Hunt Fund, which offers grants of $2,500 to $10,000, will support projects that examine the effects of a specific factor or confluence of factors on a community’s health, such as poverty, health disparities, pollution, violence, land use, urban development, access to health care, and access to healthy food. The fund honors the legacy of Dennis A. Hunt, a visionary communications leader at The California Endowment. The fund is administered by the USC Annenberg/California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship program, which was co-founded by Hunt.

Competition for the National Fellowship and the Dennis A. Hunt Fund Grants is open to both newsroom staffers and freelancers. The stipends and grants can be used to defray reporting and publishing-related costs such as travel, Web development, database acquisition, translation services, and a journalist’s otherwise uncompensated time.

Applicants must join ReportingonHealth.org, a Web 2.0 community for health journalism and the official Web site for the Fellowships. To encourage collaboration between mainstream and ethnic media, preference will be given to applicants who propose a joint project for use by both media outlets.

For more information, visit ReportingonHealth.org or e-mail Martha Shirk at Cahealth@usc.edu. (Prospective candidates are strongly encouraged to discuss their proposed projects in advance.)

More Links:

http://www.reportingonhealth.org/fellowships/seminars/national-health-journalism

http://www.reportingonhealth.org/fellowships/seminars/dennis-hunt-fund-health-journalism

http://www.reportingonhealth.org/

Open Internet Reporting Fellowship from New America Media

Another fellowship opportunity – this one from New America Media. Deadline this Friday, April 2! -mia

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Open Internet Reporting Fellowships

DEADLINE APPROACHING: April 2, 2010, 5 PM PDT

What is net neutrality? What is broadband access and adoption? Why should your audiences care about these issues? Here are three reasons why:

Do they make international phone calls using the Internet? Do they purchase consumer goods online? Do they search for information, jobs or register for schools online?

Each fellow will submit a proposal outlining an in-depth or investigative story or series of stories she or he intends to pursue, as well as a signed agreement by his or her publisher/producer to run the story or stories in their ethnic/community media outlet.

Fellows will receive assistance as needed with research, reporting and producing their stories. NAM will disseminate stories produced by the fellows to ethnic and mainstream media partners and nonprofit collaborators through NAM’s news wire. The G.W. Williams Center will also distribute the stories through independent media as well as its nonprofit partners.

All stories must be edited and approved by project editors before publication/broadcast and must be completed by June 30, 2010.

Fellows will receive a $500 stipend once the story or series has been published or aired. For more information contact Linda Jue, director and executive editor, G.W. Williams Center for Independent Journalism: 415/321-1733 or nvijdirector@gmail.com

Click hereto download the fellowship application.

The form can be scanned (with the publisher/producer/editor’s signature) and emailed in. Alternatively the editor/publisher/producer can email agreement to publish the story directly to nvijdirector@gmail.com, Attn: Open Internet Reporting Fellowship

Audio Engineering Society Scholarship

Scholarships available from the Audio Engineering Society. Details below. -mia

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Deadline is May 15th, if you would like to pass this along to interested students/colleagues:

AES Educational Foundation http://www.aes.org/education/foundation/

The Audio Engineering Society Educational Foundation is dedicated to encouraging the entry of talented students into the profession of audio engineering and related fields. Since its establishment in 1984, the Foundation has awarded grants for graduate studies to exceptional applicants, many of whom have gone on to prominent and successful careers in the profession. Applications are accepted from students worldwide.

Short paid article gig

Anyone available for this short writing gig? Details below. Contact: Kris Haamer -mia

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Call: Freelance writer in the San Francisco area for a science story out of the Cal. Academy of Sciences. Preferably interested in African or Lusophone cultures.

Story: A world class scientist just back from his latest expedition to Sao Tome & Principe. Has previously found a new species on the islands, really excited to tell the unique biodiversity story of the archipelago.

Job: Feature the scientist, focus on Sao Tome – 500 words, 3 pictures. Background: http://islandbiodiversityrace.wildlifedirect.org/

Payment: Negotiable.

Audience: Published on SaoTomeBlog: http://saotomeblog.com/

Deadline: April 19, 2010

Interested? Contact: Kris Haamer

Neo Journalism in Oakland

Is Oakland ready for it’s close up?

These days it seems there’s no shortage of news websites or blogs devoted to covering all things Oakland. In the last couple of years we’ve seen Oakland North come aboard, the launch of Oakland Local, The OakBook, and cool sites like A Better Oakland.

Old scribes like the New York Times are falling all over themselves trying to cover Oakland and the Bay Area, and even the yet-to-be launched The Bay Citizen promises to devote key resources to the city.

Last night, I stopped by the official launch party of OaklandSeen, a radio and news blog project put together by prominent Oakland citizen, Aimee Allison.

Not too long ago, Oakland was a dead zone for journalism. The Tribune had moved out of its iconic headquarters and the Chronicle only dropped in when there was a shooting or social unrest.

But with the demise of traditional print journalism, comes new opportunities for media outlets willing to chuck the old way and come up with a new plan.

What many of the new Oakland news organizations have in common is a grassroots feel and a promise to cover more than just crime and city hall. Also, reflecting the diversity of the city, almost all of these new organizations are run, in part, by women or journalists of color.

The days of just seeing news about murder, school board meetings, and ribbon cutting events in Oakland seem to be, thankfully, over.

I’ll leave aside the issue of providing living wages for writers, photographers, and radio folks for another time.

Instead, for now, I’ll celebrate this golden age in Oakland journalism.


–Jennifer Inez Ward

training event from California Media Workers, Sat. April 24, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m., SF

From the Freelancer’s Guild – training session is free to Guild members, pretty affordable for everyone else. Details below: -mia

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This workshop is free to guild members, including freelance unit members, but RSVPs will help us plan. If it sounds like something you want to do, just send a note with your name and contact info toregister@mediaworkers.org

We hope to have a complete schedule out soon, but we already have confirmations from some really top-notch speakers and presenters.

If you have questions, e-mail me at modernsara@gmail.com

Freelancer gathering – Thursday, 4/8, 7pm, Oakland

Hey all. I’m coming to the Bay Area for a visit and I would LOVE to see you! Come out and re/connect with your fellow freelancers:

Pacific Coast Brewing Company 906 Washington Street, Oakland 7pm – whenever y’all get sick of me

Drop me a note if you think you can make it so I can keep an eye out for you. (And I think Rori may even have an FC sign for the table.)

You can also RSVP on Facebook .

Can’t wait to reconnect with the FC crew. Best, Mia 845-444-4034

PS: I’m also trying to get the FC twitter feedgoing again if you’re interested. And there have been regular posts to freelancecafe.org. FC has gone all social media on you!

Corporation for Public Broadcasting Launches New Local Journalism Initiative

Lots of hiring is promised at the stations that received this funding. Seems like a step in the right direction for revitalizing local media.

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http://cpb.org/pressroom/release.php?prn=814

For Immediate Release March 25, 2010

Corporation for Public Broadcasting Launches New Local Journalism Initiative

Regional Collaborations to Counter Decline of Local Journalism

Digital Public Media Platform to Support Innovation

Washington, DC — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) today announced funding for a major journalism initiative that will increase original local reporting capacity in seven regions around the country, and a planning project to develop an open information architecture to harness the collective power of the public media network.

CPB is funding the creation of seven Local Journalism Centers (LJCs), combining CPB and participating stations’ resources for a ground-breaking new approach to newsgathering and its distribution. The Centers will form teams of multimedia journalists, who will focus on issues of particular relevance to each region; their in-depth reports will be presented regionally and nationally via digital platforms, community engagement programs and radio and television broadcasts.

The LJC initiative builds on CPB’s long-standing commitment to journalism and its ongoing funding of public media news and public affairs content and initiatives, including Project Argo, a pilot effort funded jointly with the Knight Foundation to enable a dozen NPR and PBS stations to expand their reporting and increase their expertise on topics of local relevance.

“The Local Journalism Centers will enhance public media’s ability to meet the information needs of local communities at a time when access to high quality, original reporting is declining,” Patricia Harrison, the CEO and President of CPB said. “Public media has long provided independent and in-depth coverage of local issues and public policy. The need for that coverage is even greater today, and we have a responsibility to ensure that journalism can continue to thrive and serve the needs of our democracy.

“These radio and television stations are locally owned and operated and work in partnership with other community-based organizations,” Ms. Harrison explained. “Working together with stations across a region, along with emerging new digital journalism organizations, they can make a significant contribution to news gathering and distribution, which is critical to the information health of these communities.”

“In a time when newspapers and other media organizations are cutting back or disappearing altogether, public media is strengthening its commitment to journalism,” said PBS President and CEO Paula A. Kerger. “We’re putting our innovative spirit and strong local and national infrastructure to work for the American people in new ways – filling gaps in news coverage and using new platforms to ensure everyone has access to the most trusted source for in-depth reporting, analysis and investigative journalism. PBS is proud to collaborate with CPB, NPR, our member stations and emerging digital journalism organizations across the country to transform community engagement and information.”

In addition, CPB also announced funding for the Public Media Platform, a project administered by NPR, in partnership with PBS, APM, PRI and PRX. This coalition of public media leaders will develop a prototype for a flexible common platform to support public media innovation and collaboration. The ultimate goal is to collect, distribute, present and monetize digital media content efficiently, allowing producers and stations to devote their resources to reporting, content production and community engagement.

Vivian Schiller, President and CEO of NPR, said, “These two initiatives represent the twin paths that public media must travel – expanded original news reporting, and state of the art tools and technology to get that content into the hands of more people. CPB’s investments in these two innovative programs ultimately serve those goals, and the interests of the American people.”

IRP Fellowship deadline April 1

International Reporting Project fellowship deadline approaching. Details below. -mia * ++++++++++++++++++++++++++*

Applications for IRP Fellowship in international reporting due by *April 1*

In the fall of 2010 the International Reporting Project (IRP) will offer up to 10 IRP Fellowships to U.S. journalists to carry out a project reporting from any country in the world outside the United States.

As part of its 2010 program, the IRP will offer one “IRP/Stanley Foundation Fellowship” that will be part of the overall Fellowships program. This award will be made to a U.S. journalist of any level of experience – including senior journalists – whose proposed international reporting project will focus on the challenge of securing loose nuclear material.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to shed light on an “under-reported” topic and region of the world.

*Click the below link for more information on the Fellowships:*

http://internationalreportingproject.org/stories/detail/1508/

*Online application form is available at:*

http://internationalreportingproject.org/fellowship_apply.php

Attention all freelancers seeking HEALTH CARE

Important message from the Freelancer’s Guild. This is BIG! -mia

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ATTENTION ALL FREELANCERS SEEKING HEALTH CARE

In the upcoming months, the Guild’s Freelancer unit will be negotiating a contract with a major health care provider that will offer rates far lower than what you could get on the open market as an individual.

It is vital that before we sit down to negotiate, we obtain the largest possible membership through your sign-ups because that membership size in turn will affect the amount of the annual rate unit that members pay.

So now is the time for any of you who are freelancing and facing the prospect of no benefits, expensive benefits or loss of benefits to join the unit so we have the largest possible group and thereby win the least costly and best possible health care plan for you.

Maybe you have health coverage for a few more months — if you were laid off by The Chronicle — or maybe you still are covered by your parents’ policy if you are a journalism student who is about to graduate. But if that coverage is due to end anytime soon, you are exactly the people who should be joining the freelance unit now so we can get a great health policy for you.

Along with the upcoming health plan, here are some of the benefits provided by the freelance unit for the fee of $144 a year:

College scholarships of $3,000 each for the 2010-2011 school year for members and their family members. Winners, selected in a lottery drawing, also will receive second-year scholarships of the same amount contingent upon satisfactory academic accomplishment. Part-time scholarships are also available. $500 for families that open a new 529 college savings plan. Juried press pass eligibility.

Free Lynda.com membership for two weeks — long enough to learn some new programs or skills.

Membership in the Bay Media Federal Credit Union, which features low- cost loans, high-yield savings, and safe, secured deposits, competitive rates on IRA/Health Savings Accounts and (HSA)/Education Savings Accounts.

Union Plus, which offers mortgage assistance, discounts on legal counsel, tax services, car rentals, prescription drugs, electronics, and more, a low-cost credit card — and a 10 percent discount on AT&T service — great for those who use iPhones!

Free admission to monthly seminars on topics of value to freelancers, from filing taxes to pitching a non-fiction book to driving up traffic to your Web-based work.

You will become part of a group that advocates for better conditions for freelancers, promotes high standards in an age where journalism quality is deteriorating and allows members help one another deal with the hurdles of self-employment.

Please consider joining today. Log onto guildfreelancers.org and click on “Join Us.” Questions? Call Rebecca at 510-472-3024.

In solidarity, Rebecca Rosen Lum, Unit Chair Susan Sward, member, Guild Freelancers