The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard has been awarded a grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to establish a new annual fellowship for business journalists. The grant additionally renews funding for the Donald W. Reynolds Nieman Fellowship in Community Journalism, which has been awarded by the Nieman Foundation each year since 2005.
The Reynolds grant, which totals $918,130, will cover the cost of fellowships for one business journalist and one community journalist per year for the next five academic years, beginning in September 2010.
In announcing the grant, Nieman Foundation Curator Bob Giles said, “As economic stories continue to dominate the headlines and business news becomes increasingly complex, it’s essential that reporters and editors have an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the issues at hand. During their year at Harvard, the new business journalism fellows will be able to explore topics ranging from management and investment theories to basic economics and personal finance and even law and international politics. We are grateful to the Reynolds Foundation for its generous support of this important venture.”
The Donald W. Reynolds Nieman Fellowship in Business Journalism will enable journalists to gain in-depth knowledge of business, finance and economics, make important connections to leaders within the field of business, both within academia and the business-related professions, and become a contributing part of the Reynolds Business Journalism Network.
The fellows may take full advantage of the rich resources of Harvard University, including Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School and the Department of Economics.
Candidates for the Reynolds Fellowship in Business Journalism should be well established professional journalists from the United States with substantial experience in business journalism or a related field. They may be employed by a news organization or do freelance work and may report or edit in any type of media. Interested applicants can learn more about the new fellowship online at http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/.
In conjunction with the new business journalism fellowship, the Nieman Foundation also envisions expanding its relationship with the Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University as well as the Reynolds endowed chairs in business journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism, Washington and Lee University and the University of Nevada, Reno.
The Donald W. Reynolds Nieman Fellowship in Community Journalism recognizes and supports exceptional journalists who have made a commitment to covering their local communities and to increasing the visibility and perceived value of community journalism.
Since 2005, U.S. journalists at local daily newspapers with circulation of less than 50,000 have been eligible to apply for the fellowship. Beginning in the 2010-2011 academic year, the terms of eligibility will be extended to include journalists from local weeklies with a paid circulation of 50,000 or less. Journalists doing online work for community newspapers or journalists who have established independent local news Web sites in communities where the circulation of the local newspaper is less than 50,000 may also apply.
Since its inception, the Reynolds Nieman Fellowship in Community Journalism has supported journalists from small newsrooms with limited resources. In granting these fellowships, the Nieman Foundation has enabled community journalists to pursue a course of study at Harvard, network with their peers from news organizations around the globe, build a network of professional contacts and receive specialized training designed to help them excel in their jobs.
The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada, it is one of the 50 largest private foundations in the United States and has invested more than $100 million in its National Journalism Initiative.
Established in 1938, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard administers the oldest midcareer fellowship program for journalists in the world. The fellowships are awarded to working journalists of accomplishment and promise who travel to Harvard University for a year of study, seminars and special events. More than 1,300 journalists from 89 countries have received Nieman Fellowships. The Nieman Foundation also publishes the quarterly magazine Nieman Reports, the nation’s oldest magazine devoted to a critical examination of the practice of journalism, and is home to the Nieman Journalism Lab, which identifies emerging business models and best practices in journalism in the digital media age. Additionally, the foundation runs the Nieman Narrative Digest, a compendium of exceptional narrative journalism, and the Nieman Watchdog, a Web-based project that encourages journalists to monitor and hold accountable all those who exert power in public life.
For more information, go to http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/