Call for Applications for All-Expenses-Paid Seminars in Health Journalism

Application Deadline: March 3, 2008
Seminar Dates: April 13-April 18, 2008

Who Can Apply: This fellowship is open to print, broadcast and multimedia journalists from around the country who have a passion for health news. We encourage participation from talented journalists in all markets and from both general circulation and ethnic media.

What’s Included: The all-expenses-paid fellowship includes free tuition, meals, travel and lodging for fellows.

The program also provides travel, lodging and meals for fellows’ editors or news directors for the special Editor/Fellow Workshop April 17-18, 2008. We offer a limited number of scholarships to cover costs for editors who wish to participate for the entire week.

The program is funded by a generous grant from The California Endowment and offered by USC’s Annenberg School for Communication.

Reporting Stipend:

To encourage journalists to aim high in reporting on health at a time of scarce newsroom resources, we offer a $2,000 stipend upon publication or broadcast of a major fellowship project, such as a series or major news package that represents a serious commitment from your news organization.

To encourage collaboration between mainstream and ethnic media, preference will be given to applicants who propose a joint project for use by both media outlets. Each collaborator will receive the $2,000 stipend. This portion of our program is offered in collaboration with our partner, New America Media.

Program Description:

The United States is rapidly becoming more diverse. Today, one third of the nation’s 300 million residents are ethnic minorities. This program explores the intersection between community health, health policy, and the nation’s growing ethnic diversity.

In field trips and seminars, program participants will learn about health trends, policy innovations and political conflicts involving health care. Fellows will emerge with a broader and more nuanced awareness of immigrant health, health disparities, access to care, farm worker health, and the nation’s frayed health insurance safety net. They will also gain a deeper understanding of health reform initiatives around the country and explore how current efforts fit into a larger history of big ideas, colliding interests, and political battles.

During our field trips, we explore the dynamics at play around health in our home base of Los Angeles, an international city that has been called a “proving ground” for a multicultural society. California, the country’s most populous majority-minority state, has the largest numbers of Asians and Latinos in the nation. More than 100 languages are spoken here. Many of the health challenges and program innovations that accompany changing demographics have been debated and addressed here for decades.

Seminar Schedule:

April 13- April 18, 2008

The program begins with a keynote dinner on Sunday evening and ends at midday the following Friday.
— Fellows are expected to attend all seminars.
— Fellows’ assigning editors and producers are strongly encouraged to attend our special Editor/Fellow Workshop at our expense.

Questions?

Please contact program director Michelle Levander at (213) 437-4418 or program assistant Joyce Inouye at (213) 437-4419 or email calendow (at) usc.edu.