Couple days left to apply for this one. Go for it! -mia

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J-School Announces Competition for Two Investigative Reporting Fellowships

From the Graduate School of Journalism | March 8, 2010

BERKELEY – To help develop a new generation of investigative reporters in an era of extensive cutbacks at major news organizations, UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism today announced a call for entries for its fourth-annual competition for year-long fellowships in investigative reporting. The two fellowships will be awarded in June 2010.

The fellowships are open to all working investigative journalists, but preference will be given to graduates of UC Berkeley’s master’s program in journalism. A strong track record of successfully reporting on complex subjects in the public interest is required.

Applicants will be chosen based on their qualifications and on the proposed area of investigation they intend to pursue. Story proposals must be those that have been under-reported by traditional news organizations. Proposals may include print, broadcast and multimedia components.

“Providing a unique opportunity for young journalists to pursue their passion to do a story in the public interest is the most important thing we can do,” said Professor Lowell Bergman, the director of the Investigative Reporting Program.

“We are part of the growing movement to preserve, protect and promote investigative reporting during a period of contraction in the news business. This effort does not enjoy the support of state funding and is made possible by the generous support of individuals and foundations. These contributions, along with the work of the previous fellows and my colleagues, Robert Gunnison and Marlena Telvick, have made the Investigative Reporting Program a model for a growing number of non-profit efforts,” said Bergman.

Winners of the 2009-2010 fellowships were Ryan Gabrielson of the East Valley Tribune in Mesa, Arizona and a recipient of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting and Matt Isaacs, a 1999 graduate of the journalism school and veteran investigative reporter and editor in California.

Gabrielson recently launched a multi-media, multi-outlet investigation on DUI checkpoints including a print story in The New York Times and an accompanying video on the Times website. The Center for Investigative Reporting’s “California Watch” edited versions of the story for the Sacramento Bee, the Orange County Register, Mother Jones, the Bakersfield Californian, the Stockton Record and in Spanish for La Opinion. The PBS NewsHour aired a broadcast version of Gabrielson’s investigation.

“As a newspaper reporter, I began the fellowship without experience producing pieces for multiple news outlets at once, or for television,” says Gabrielson. “But with guidance, I conducted on-camera interviews for a PBS NewsHour segment, while simultaneously writing print pieces for California Watch and The New York Times.”

“You cannot help but grow as a journalist watching Bergman and his IRP team at work,” Gabrielson says.

Matt Isaacs, who is continuing his investigation of overseas Chinese power in the United States in collaboration with a major news outlet, says, “The Investigative Reporting Program is the only place I know that can catch the ear of almost any news organization in the country. If you have a story worth telling, the program will find somewhere to place it at the highest levels.”

“Lowell knows how to make a good story great, and how to send a great one into the stratosphere,” Isaacs says. “He knows what it takes to play on the national stage because he’s been there so long.”

The IRP also occasionally awards small grants to support investigative projects not selected for the fellowships. Applicants will be notified if they have been placed in a special category for consideration for one of these grants.

Zachary Stauffer, a 2008 graduate of the journalism school and Katie Galloway, a filmmaker and lecturer in the Media Studies department at UC Berkeley were the applicants chosen to receive project-specific funding last year.

Mr. Stauffer is working as a cinematographer and reporter for the IRP. He served as director of photography for the PBS FRONTLINE documentary “The Card Game” and also shot Ryan Gabrielson’s story on DUI checkpoints for the PBS NewsHour. Ms. Galloway has been given in-residence support and editing facilities for her feature documentary on a domestic counterterrorism case.

Fellows will be provided with office space, phones, basic expenses and up to $10,000 in funds for approved travel. Proposals must include an estimate for travel expenses to complete a project. No housing or relocation supplements are provided. Fellows are expected to refrain from outside journalistic projects, and to use the Berkeley offices as their base of operations during the fellowship.

Fellows will be employees of the University of California with an annual salary of approximately $47,000. They also will be able to audit UC Berkeley classes and use campus research facilities.

The deadline for fellowship applications for the academic year 2010-2011 is 12 o’clock Midnight on Friday, April 9th. This year’s recipients will be announced in June. The fellows’ year-long tenure will begin in September.

The application and entry requirements can be found at: http://jobs.berkeley.edu. The job number is #10506. Please note, three letters of reference to the attention of Professor Lowell Bergman will be required. Solicit them early.

For additional details on the fellowship program, contact:

Investigative Reporting Program 2481 Hearst Avenue Berkeley, CA 94709 investigativereportingprogram@berkeley.edu