Grants of up to $2,500 are available to help newspapers in the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies hire an intern who is a member of a racial or ethnic minority group. Internships can last from three to six months.

The deadline to apply for a summer/fall 2004 diversity internship grant has been extended, and all applications are now due in the AAN office on May 24. To apply, editors must describe how an internship will benefit the paper’s staff and news coverage. The potential intern’s credentials must be submitted, along with clips or photos, and a short essay about what the intern can contribute to the field of alternative journalism.

Download an application by clicking here. Winners will be announced by June 24.

AAN instituted the Diversity Internship Program in 2001 to help alternative weeklies hire and train top-quality minority journalists, with the hope that they will choose careers in the alternative press.

Ten grants have been made since the program was established. Winter/spring 2004 awards went to the Jackson Free Press, which hired Ayana Taylor for a five-month reporting internship; and the San Antonio Current, which hired Abraham C. Mahshie as a writer and copy editor for six months.

For more information, contact Richard Karpel or Debra Silvestrin at the AAN Office; phone (202) 822-1955.