Tibet Sinha needed help, and he needed it fast.

Sinha had to produce a special report on the 2008 U.S. Super Tuesday primaries in February for the German television station, WDR. Based across the Atlantic and stumped for German-speaking expert sources on the U.S. election, he immediately thought of the valuable contacts he made while on a 2005 fellowship with the Arthur F. Burns Program, co-administered by ICFJ.

“Hardly 24 hours later, we had firmly booked excellent experts,” he said. Not only had he been able to secure experts on the topic, they all spoke German. The in-depth special went off without a hitch, thanks to the Burns network of 360 experienced journalists in the U.S. and abroad.

Sinha’s is just the most recent example of the alumni network’s value. Half of the mid-career broadcast or print journalists currently reporting on international affairs in Germany are Burns alumni. Alumni include more than 50 journalists working as foreign correspondents in almost 20 countries.

2005 Burns fellow Fred Pleitgen reports from the scene of a housefire in New Orleans, La.

The nine-week exchange program for U.S. and German journalists stimulates deeper coverage of the two continents by embedding the fellows in news outlets similar to their home newsrooms. Many of the alumni have said that their coverage of the other country takes into account nuance and diversity they would not have incorporated had it not been for the Burns opportunity.

“I cannot imagine any other way that could be nearly as effective in explaining the way U.S. people think and act….than to stay and work there for a while,” said Dr. Peter Boër, the editor-in-chief for FondsMagazin in Frankfurt, Germany and a 1988 Burns fellow.

In addition to deepening international coverage, the fellowship has landed alumni countless jobs. As a 2005 Burns fellow in Frankfurt, Leigh Dyer secured a byline at her dream publication: The Wall Street Journal Europe. Thanks to 1990 Burns alumna Dagmar Aalund, then head of the prestigious paper’s Weekend Journal edition, Dyer continues to free-lance for the publication in addition to her work at The Charlotte Observer.

Fred Pleitgen was bound for Atlanta, Ga., for his Burns fellowship at CNN in 2005. However, when Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area that year, Pleitgen was sent to the Gulf Coast region to cover the breaking story. As a result of his excellent work in the field, he was offered the CNN's Berlin bureau chief position upon returning home.

For others, the network serves as a recruitment tool. Mathias Döpfner, chairman for Die Welt -- Germany’s largest newspaper -- was a Burns fellow in 1988, the first year of the program. Since then, he has hired 15 fellow alumni.

Reporter for the Fresno Bee in California and 1992 Burns alumnus Jeffrey Bils added, “The Burns fellowship was one of the best things I’ve ever done professionally.”

It also puts the journalists in touch with expert sources like Henry Kissinger, who is on the program’s board of trustees. “To be able to say hello to the likes of Henry Kissinger, see him smile, remember my name and ask how I am faring, is rather incredible,” said Christine Preston, a 2000 fellow.

This impressive network continues to reach new heights with a newly-launched Web site, www.burnsalumni.org. It gives alumni protected access to keep in touch, share job opportunities and recommend sources for future stories.

Sinha, for one, is sure to call on his colleagues again. “The Burns Alumni Network did a big favor for us,” he said.

To apply for a fellowship by March 11, click here.