Make a Lasting, Visible Impact on Media and Society

The Knight International Journalism Fellowship program helps to create news outlets and programming, training centers and schools, and innovative resources to improve the quality and free flow of news in the public interest around the world. Send us your ideas for a fellowship project. If your idea is selected, we will recruit and support a journalist or media manager to work on a fellowship project for at least a year. Or send in a proposal for a project you would like to run as a Knight fellow. For more information about the program’s criteria, please click here: http://knight.icfj.org/GetInvolved/ProjectCriteria/tabid/826/Default.aspx

1. What is the primary goal of the Knight International Journalism Fellowships?

Knight International Journalism Fellows work with local partner organizations to make lasting, visible changes that improve the quality and free flow of news in the public interest around the world.

Fellows have established media training centers, journalism associations, academic programs, citizen journalism networks, and units of investigative reporters. They have created mobile news services and online databases to track corruption. They have developed topical journalism manuals and curricula in more than a dozen languages. With the help of our fellows, local journalists have improved environmental, business and health coverage, and uncovered corruption and mismanagement, improving living conditions in their societies. Each project is designed to ensure that the impacts and achievements last beyond the fellowship.

2. Where do fellows work?

We work in Latin America/Caribbean, Central Europe/Eurasia, Asia/Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East. We target countries where there is great opportunity to make a lasting impact. Examples of opportunities for fellowship projects:

•New leadership or improved media laws have opened a window for better journalism
•An end to conflict has enabled the growth of independent media
•Digital tools have created new ways for citizens to become active participants in their societies
3. What do fellows do?

Fellows help media organizations launch new content on the most-urgent issues of our time, from climate change to democratic reform to life-threatening diseases. Media working with Knight fellows have developed voters’ guides before elections in Cambodia and Ghana, news programming for a newly privatized radio station in post-conflict Rwanda, ongoing television programs on social issues in Lebanon and Jordan, and a television news agency staffed by women in Bangladesh.

Knight fellows have used internet and mobile phone innovations in Bolivia, India, Malaysia and Tanzania to improve the flow of information from under served areas to major media that influence policy makers.

Their projects must produce lasting, visible change.

See a list of our current projects by topic.

4. Can I propose a fellowship?

We welcome fellowship proposals at any time. To propose a project, submit a fellowship proposal. Candidates who wish to propose a project and become a Knight International Journalism Fellow should submit a proposal and a fellowship application.

5. What types of proposals will you consider?

Successful proposals will outline a very specific idea and the lasting, visible results that will be achieved at the end of the fellowship. Examples.

We are not likely to approve proposals that are simply about to training journalists or teaching students. We also are not likely to approve proposals that require substantial amounts of funding to achieve objectives.

6. How can I propose a project?

Submit a fellowship proposal.

7. How can I become a fellow?

•Apply for a current fellowship opening posted on our website
•Submit a fellowship proposal and a fellowship application.
8. What are the requirements to become a fellow?

Fellows should meet these requirements:

•Strong leadership qualities
•Entrepreneurship; ability to identify opportunities that produce results
•Fluency in the language of the country
•Demonstrated knowledge of fellowship focus
•Minimum of 10 years of journalism, multimedia technology and/or media management experience
9. Can I use this fellowship to fund my education or give me the skills I need to advance my career?

This fellowship builds the capacity of media in the host country or region. It cannot be used to fund the education or development of the fellow.

10. Is there a deadline for application submissions?

Applications are accepted throughout the year unless otherwise specified in specific fellowship openings. To see current openings, click here.

11. What is the selection process?

Fellowship applications and proposals are evaluated on a rolling basis. Finalists may be invited to ICFJ’s office in Washington, D.C., for interviews. If that is not feasible, they will be interviewed by ICFJ’s regional representatives or by phone. Our regional and at-large advisory committees help us to develop good projects and recruit and select top fellows.

Fellows selected for the program attend a week-long orientation program in Washington, D.C. The orientation program takes place twice a year.

12. How long does the fellowship last?

Fellowships last at least one year. Fellowships can be extended at the discretion of ICFJ’s Knight International staff.

13. What does the fellowship cover (financial, health, and benefits)?

During the fellowship, each fellow receives an allowance for transportation, professional and living expenses, and an honorarium. Fellows also receive an allowance for health-insurance coverage in their home countries and emergency coverage if they are working outside their home country. Fellows receive two weeks of paid vacation per year.

14. Can fellows work on other projects or continue to work as journalists during their fellowships?

Fellows work full-time on their projects. Since they are considered business consultants, they may not work as journalists during the fellowship.

15. For applicants whose native language is not English: Do I need to translate everything I send in, including my work samples?

Applications, CVs and resumes should be in English. Relevant work samples or supporting material for project proposals may be in the applicant’s native language.

If you have additional questions, please contact Program Officer Pedro J. Rodriguez at prodriguez@icfj.org or 1-202-349-7638.

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