Journalism Institute and Common Health Coalition announce new public health reporting fellowship
The National Press Club Journalism Institute and the Common Health Coalition have launched a new fellowship opportunity for mid-career journalists.
The Public Health Reporting Fellowship will award up to $7,500 to each of five individuals to support reporting projects focused on the intersection of public health policy and health care delivery. Projects in any format will be accepted, including print, digital, audio, visual, and broadcast.
The deadline to apply for the six-month program is Jan. 6.
The Common Health Coalition, which brings together health care organizations in pursuit of a more unified health system, has invested $50,000 to start the fellowship program. Applicants will be asked to propose a significant reporting project covering a critical community, regional, state, or national public health issue, to be published or distributed by July 2025.
“It is vital to support excellence in independent health journalism and the free press," said Common Health Coalition Chair Dave Chokshi. “This fellowship helps ensure journalists elevate the important — and often unseen — partnerships occurring across the country between healthcare and public health. And these are stories worth telling, because such partnerships make our health system stronger and our families and communities healthier."
The awards will fund the work necessary to complete each reporting project, including travel and time away from regular duties. During the six-month, fully remote program, the fellows also will receive monthly training, access to subject-matter experts, and mentorship customized to their specific project.
“Recent history has illustrated the necessity of strong health journalism that not only explains critical issues, but goes further to reveal the impact of solutions-oriented infrastructures that could help move the needle in improving public health,” Journalism Institute Executive Director Beth Francesco said. “These stories take time and resources to report — two things often short in today’s news environment.".”
More details on the Public Health Reporting Fellowship:
- Fellows will receive up to $7,500 in funding to support reporting expenses for a significant project to be published by fellows’ employers or a supporting news outlet. Newsroom and freelance journalists are welcome to apply. Projects also would be distributed across NPCJI networks and partner sites.
- Fellows will have six months --- (February through July --- to complete and publish/distribute their respective projects.
- Fellows will attend a half-day virtual orientation with training content focused on public health issues, data, resources and research to support their projects.
- Fellows will receive support from leading public health experts and journalists serving as mentors throughout the fellowship.
- Fellows will participate in monthly virtual checkpoints to continue building their knowledge of resources and data.
- Fellows will also participate in a publicly available knowledge-share webinar to assist other health reporters in pursuing this work by describing what they learned and the “how” behind their projects.
Fellowship requirements:
- Applicants must have at least 10 years of professional journalism experience.
- Fellows will report and produce a significant journalism project covering the critical public health topics of our time to be published or broadcast in a U.S.-based media outlet.
- Applicants are asked to provide a letter of support from their employer or the news outlet where they intend to publish their project.
- While previous public health reporting is not a requirement, fellows must demonstrate a commitment to this topic, detailed in their application proposal.
- Fellows must participate fully in orientation and monthly check-ins.