Our LaunchPad Fellowship for NextGen Journalists is designed to empower talented early-career journalists by enhancing their professional capacity, connecting them with colleagues and new mentors, broadening their career development skills, and helping them to produce community-centered, systems-focused journalism.
The ideal applicants should have three to six years of experience as a professional journalist in any media platform in order to qualify as an early-career journalist. Additionally, we’re looking for a talented group of journalists who have a commitment to investigative, systems-focused journalism and to telling the stories of our communities with depth, compassion and authenticity.
Read our announcement about the 2024-2025 LaunchPad Fellowship.
About the Fellowship
Our nine-month fellowship program is designed for early-career journalists from all media platforms who have the skills, expertise and desire to tackle an ambitious in-depth reporting/storytelling project on a critical social problem facing the United States.
Fellows will work independently to conduct research, interviews and other reporting/producing activities needed to complete their proposed project. They will be challenged to delve deeply into their selected issue; to explore its real and human impact; to expose the systemic drivers that contribute to the problem; and to explore possible remedies and solutions.
LaunchPad Fellows Receive:
- A $5,000 grant to offset living expenses while conducting their research and reporting.
- An intensive, three-day in-person learning/training experience.
- Skills-building webinars throughout the fellowship year.
- Nine months of professional/project mentorship.
Our Vision
While one generation can’t single-handedly “save the media,” we believe that early-career journalists with a deep commitment and calling for their work, can and should play a critical role in transforming the news industry. Yet, our research has uncovered a disturbing reality: Many aspiring journalists confront significant barriers to getting and keeping their foot in the door. The obstacles include low pay or no pay for entry-level jobs and internships; inability to afford the high costs of professional development programs; feelings of isolation within their newsrooms; and a dearth of trusted mentors and colleagues.
The tragic bottom line is that we risk losing many talented journalists, even before they can get a toehold in the profession. With LaunchPad, Renaissance Journalism aims to give these journalists the support they need to ensure that their essential voices, diverse perspectives and stories become an integral part of the positive changes we want to see in the media.
We are currently not soliciting applications for this fellowship. Please watch this site for announcements about our future fellowship opportunities.