Application Deadline:
Applications are open for the 2024/2025 USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Data Fellowship. Data Fellowship offers journalists an opportunity to transform their reporting by training them to “interview the data” as if it were a human source. Equipped with the tools to find original sources of information and perform data analysis, Fellows graduate from this hands-on training program prepared to produce in the five months that follow either a major investigative or explanatory health reporting project or a series of individual data-driven health stories that focus on issues important to their communities.
This program offers training on data acquisition, cleaning, analysis and visualization led by some of the most skilled data reporters and journalism practitioners in the nation. They teach journalists how to “bulletproof” their data, ensuring accuracy in reporting. Following the training week, Senior Fellows mentor reporters as they pair original data analysis with compelling narratives on underlooked health issues.
Admitted Fellows receive:
- A $2,000 stipend to defray reporting costs
- One week of extensive, hands-on training in beginner, intermediate or advanced Excel or R-Studio
- Five months of professional mentorship
Fellows also are eligible to apply for professional mentorship in engaged journalism and $1,000-$2,000 to support those creative efforts.
Eligibility Requirements
- U.S.-based professional journalists. Fellows in our program include Pulitzer prize winning investigative journalists, veteran health and social welfare reporters, as well as talented journalists earlier in their careers.
- Reporters who hold full-time staff positions in newsrooms that are both large and small
- Freelancers who earn the majority of their income from journalism and have a confirmed assignment for their proposed projects
- Reporters with varying degrees of experience with data analysis; however applicants should have, at minimum, a basic understanding of Excel. We cater our program to the skillsets of admitted Fellows.
How to Apply
Applications will include:
- Personal Statement and Project Proposal: Tell us about yourself and why you want to participate in the program. Provide a description of the project you’re pursuing. Consider these questions: What is your long-term goal for this project? How would you like to see the community or policy benefit from this work? What makes this reporting new or important?
- Deliverables Statement: Number of stories you’ll be reporting, and tentative story themes or focus, including any multimedia elements you plan to incorporate (photos, video, audio, graphics, etc.)
- Proposed Budget: Please provide a grant amount requested and a rough breakdown of how you plan to use the funds.
- Three samples of your most recent work
- Editor reference letter and completed Editor Checklist form
- Resume
More Info: USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Data Fellowship
