Kiplinger Fellowship Program in Public Affairs Journalism

Deadline: 30 November 2013
Open to:  a print, broadcast or online journalist with five or more years of experience
Fellowship: covers lodging, most meals and includes a travel stipend

Description

The Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism at Ohio State University is looking for innovative journalists who want to use social media to build a stronger following, develop new sources and better cover their beats. The fellowship also aims to sharpen your digital media public-affairs reporting skills, helping you hold government and institutions accountable. You’ll talk Twitter, Deep Web searches, crowdsourcing, public records, spreadsheets and online data visualization.

An online digital revolution is changing the way we communicate. For journalists, it’s an ever-evolving new world, filled with opportunities as well as obstacles. That’s why the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism offers short-term fellowships to help make better use of new online tools and channels.

Fellows spend an intensive week at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio (United States). They’ll be immersed in training designed to pay off immediately in the newsroom. They’ll explore creative reporting uses of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites. They’ll showcase strategies for backgrounding individuals and companies, as well as building an online following. They’ll focus on the latest tactics for effective public affairs reporting: public records, documents and data. Plus, they’ll explore creative uses for online tools such as Deep Web searches and free data visualizations. And they will explore the ethical issues that come with social media.

Fellows will return to their newsrooms equipped with new and sharpened reporting tools. They’ll learn how to tell powerful online stories that break through the noise and grab attention with an eye toward ethics. Stories that help people understand why in-depth reporting matters more than ever. Stories that make a difference.

See the Frequently Asked Questions page HERE for more information.

Eligibility

If you are a print, broadcast or online journalist with five or more years of experience (in the USA or abroad), you are eligible to become a Kip fellow.

Fellowship

Thanks to the generous support of the Kiplinger Foundation, the training will be offered free of charge. In addition, the fellowship covers lodging, most meals and includes a travel stipendThe 2014 fellowship runs from Sunday, April 6, through Friday, April 11 2014.

Application

Apply online HERE. Applications are due by November 30, 2013.

Once you begin the form, you must complete it (information will not be saved for a future log-in). Please allow 30-45 minutes for the application process. If you log out of the online application without completing it, you will need to start over and repeat your information.

Before you begin, you might want to put together these four pieces, which you then can copy and paste into the application:

  1. A short bio (maximum of 150 words).
  2. A short explanation of how the Kiplinger Fellowship would benefit you and your newsroom (maximum of 200 words).
  3. Web links to three recent stories that showcase your talent.
  4. Two references who know your work well (name, title, organization, email, phone).

If you have questions, please contact Kevin Z. Smith at smith.10002@osu.edu or 614-688-7464 or Lauren Boyd at boyd.404@osu.edu or 614-688-4373.

Visit the official website HERE for more information.

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