Various vocational aspects define why fellowships are highly coveted by journalists around the world.
In a nutshell:
- Unlike contract work profiles, which is primarily to pursue the goals of the employer, the entire objective of fellowships appeals
to industrially relevant skillsets of the individual journalist; it allows them resources to pursue their interests. Journalists pursue a reporting project in beats they are interested in or create innovative tools.
- Fellowships are highly competitive. They are tremendously competitive. Media organizations recognize that enough to note professionals who have shown mettle in fellowship projects. For instance, a recruiter will most likely prefer a comparatively less experienced journalist who has a fellowship or two over an experienced journalist who has no over-the-grid experience outside their work profile.
- Fellowships appeal to accomplishing goals that are esoteric and specialized, at least in terms of engagement and expertise. Experience is one thing; specialization is another. Normally, fellowship winners possess both hard heuristic knowledge, experiential skills and a restless creative drive that often lead to new reporting areas or creation of new tools, service or products.
At the time of writing this blog, the
Inclusive Media-UNDP Fellowships (2014) for Journalists was accepting
applications from Indian professionals in the media. I can imagine the degree
of competition. Beat Reporters from across India are applying for it.
Range
of grants & monetary awards
The grants that come with being a fellow
are generous. In India, they range from Rs. 50, 000 to Rs. 2.50 lakhs per
fellowship. Such are generally for projects that require engagement in the 3-8 months period. The median is approximately Rs. 1.50 Lakhs.
It's an altogether different story for fellowships in the United States and Europe, where major news corporate and media outlets offer significantly higher grants – one reason why journalists in Asia will most likely go for fellowships abroad. It's the ultimate journalism reward experience.
US grants fall in the range of $ 6,000 (approximately Rs. 3, 61, 529) to $ 25,000 (approximately Rs.15, 06,374).
Having stated that, the personal rewards from
winning (and accomplishing) fellowships are even bigger: your expertise and
capability receive industry exposure ; you learn new
skills and insights, and your niche and industry quotient climbs even higher.
Fellowships are only for news professionals that have what it
takes to make it.
Because fellowship are highly coveted and applications are tremendously competitive, experienced journalists
are meticulous when preparing their applications. There has to be
something about a fellowship that receives 500 applicants but only 10 would win.
So what does it take to win fellowships? What are the things you need to keep in mind when and as yo apply?
The first ever Media Fellowship I won was the Panos Asia award in 2009, which, unfortunately, saw limited publication
for various logistical and interpersonal reasons.
In 2010, I was fortunate in winning another.
This time, it was the All-India Journalists’ Inclusive Media Award from the
Center for the Study of Developing Societies. Only about 10 journalists from
across India made the All-India Journalists’ Inclusive Media Fellowship. Being
one among the 10, and the only journalist from the North East Region to have won the award, remains
an honor for me.
Since then I have
picked up a few more, and missed several big ones.
Here are a few tips, suggestions, and insights if you are seeking your
first big fellowship.
Preparation: Start early
I
know journalists who had incredible project ideas but failed to translate them
into projects, thereby missing the opportunity. Start planning early because this will ensure you will have more time to edit and refine your proposal.
Plan and start gathering the
required materials; seek advice from seasoned journalists especially those who have experience in undertaking fellowships; schedule your time for designing projects;
research topics and find the one that suits your capability and experience, and
your time and logistics.
Preparation, do not forget, is key.
Reconnaissance
Do not take on a project that you will later have to grapple with in terms of time, resources, research and content beyond your assured capacity.
Do not propose a high-sounding project you
would not be able to handle later. Impressing selection boards with your
proposal is one thing, accomplishing it entirely another.
Before you design a
project, assess the pros and cons of your scheme:
- How conversant are you about this project topic?
- Does the project offer something new?
- Does it solve a problem?
- Are sources, resources, and information pertinent to your project accessible, useable and measurable?
- How much travelling would it entail? What might be the budget it may require?
- What are the logistics that your project would demand and does your fellowship offer resources for it?
- Would you be able to prioritize your schedule with travel and on-spot investigations?
A hundred and one variables could go wrong
and compromise your work later. I suggest that you prioritize and design a
project you'd be able to handle, complete, and accomplish. The goal is not to have an incredible project — the goal is to accomplish a simple project that offers real solutions, and one you can accomplish with
excellence.
Get Fussy
Read, reread, read and read again the ToS, and rules and
regulations. Why? With media and journalism fellowships being tremendously competitive, it’s easy-peesy natural for selectors to need only one itsy-bitsy excuse to cut
down the number of applications to accommodate only the best.
Reduce the selectors' chances of discarding
your meticulously designed application just because you missed out a point from
ToS even though your project was a tremendous example of journalistic ingenuity. I am told that about 200 applications have
already come in for the UNDP fellowship since the announcement. That is
competition.
So, focus.
Speak
‘loud’ and fast
They set word limits based on the time they can allocate. Be concise; state only the most important parts of
your project.
Reminder: Weight
your mettle
What is the commonest mistake journalists
make when applying for fellowships? Setting goals they cannot accomplish. Do not
offer something this is beyond your capability. Plan stories that you can
write or design tools that is within your resources and expertise. Explore perspective and story angles that are very specific to your project and what you want to accomplish within your scope of experience and understanding. Develop tools that you have at least researched on, and have tried your hand at.
Forget grandiose projects; selectors are not stupid: They see your capability by
just reading the cover letter and CV, leave alone your project. Chose a project
that fits your capability, scope of experience, and a subject you are
conversant with at both heuristic and experiential level.
Specific,
more specific, most specific
What is a project proposal? It is the synopsis,
an outline. What is a project breakup? It is the elaboration of the project
proposal. Normally fellowship regulators ask for a broad proposal, and a
break-up (specific proposal).
Example of a broad proposal:
You will highlight economic tensions caused
by illegal hotels in California.
Example of a break-up (or specific) proposal:
* You will investigate why the US hospitality policy
is not working
* You will identify who is responsible for the policy not working
* You will identify who is responsible for the policy not working
* You will investigate the specific discrepancies in the policy and identify them
* You will then explain your findings. For instance, what problems the hospitality policy failure is causing for the economy of California's hospitality industry.
* You will then publish 2 news features, 5 hard news stories, and 2 op-ed commentaries in the Washington Post.
It's simple.
Be specific about what you want to achieve,
and what strategies you will be employing to accomplish them. Be specific with
your objectives in your fellowship proposal. Ensure that your goals are not some grand cause that you will later find hard to accomplish.
Propose a project that
- is doable
- is achievable
- is scalable
- is measurable, and most important of them all,
- solves a problem or issue in the area you are applying the fellowship for.
- is scalable
- is measurable, and most important of them all,
- solves a problem or issue in the area you are applying the fellowship for.
Selectors look for that assurance when you apply for journalism fellowships.
Big brand employers Vs Small timers?
Do journalists working with ‘big’
organizations have bigger chances at winning fellowships than do professionals
with lesser-known media groups because of the latter's greater exposure to news experiences, resources, and tools and even their higher level of expertise and connections?
What about journalists from underrepresented demographics or low-visibility news rooms and regions? What are the chances here for freelance journalists
(also sometimes called ‘independent journalists’)? Knight International Journalism Fellow Patrick Butler has the best answer to both:
“The point is to make sure you understand
what the goals of the fellowship are. Independent journalist vs. big brand – I
think either can be a good candidate. If you work for a major media, you can
make the case that your work reaches many people. But if you are more of an
independent journalist or freelancer, you can make the case that you are free
from some of the problems big media have – political or economic conflicts of
interest, for example. I will say that for freelance journalists, I always look
to make sure they have a media organization that is regularly using their work.
You don’t want to give a fellowship to someone who is writing for an audience
of no one – so show that you do have an audience if you’re a freelancer.”
I would be glad to assist you in setting up
your project proposals and news pitches. In case you wish to, please use the
contact form on the blog to get in touch with me (No, I will not charge you
anything! I just want to encourage journalists — especially entry-level-to-mid career reporters — mark a notch).
You have my best wishes.
