Twenty reporters from prestigious media outlets across the U.S. and Germany are the newest participants in an influential exchange program for young journalists, the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship.

Many of this year’s U.S. participants come from leading radio stations across the country. Also represented are Washington news website Politico, VICE Media, and The Washington Times. Their German colleagues hail from top news organizations such as N24 TV, Die Zeit and Der Spiegel newspapers.

The Fellows will come to Washington, D.C. in July for a week-long orientation before departing for six-week stints at host organizations in each others’ countries. When they return, they will have raised the bar for reporting on transatlantic issues.

For 25 years, the Burns Fellowship program has offered young journalists from these two countries the chance to report from one another’s newsrooms. The experience gives them a deeper understanding of the German-American relationship.

In an era when many news organizations have shuttered overseas bureaus, Burns Fellows gain precious experience as foreign correspondents. They produce some of the best international coverage today.

The program has impact. A 2010 evaluation found that at least half of Germany’s journalists who were regularly writing about international affairs were Burns alumni. This year, a Canadian journalist will join the exchange for the first time.

The U.S. Burns Fellows are:

Mr. Tim Devaney National Reporter, Washington Times Washington D.C.

Ms. Madelyn Mahon Assistant Producer, Minnesota Public Radio Saint Paul, MN

Mr. Kelly Nestruck Theatre critic, The Globe and Mail Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Mr. Pedro Oliveira Jr. Staff Writer, New York Post New York, NY

Ms. Amanda Peacher Public Insight Journalist, Oregon Public Broadcasting Portland, OR

Ms. Emily Schultheis National political reporter, POLITICO Arlington, VA

Mr. Gregory Thomas Contributing Writer, VICE Media Brooklyn, NY

Mr. Steven Valentino Associate Producer, WNYC New York, NY

Ms. Ana Ward Multimedia Producer, Voice of America Washington, D.C.

The German Burns Fellows are:

Mr. Jannis Brühl Editor, Sueddeutsche.de Munich

Mr. Jens Christof Deputy Head Radio, MDR Thueringen Weimar

Ms. Amrai Coen Freelancer, Die Zeit Hamburg

Mr. Jan Friedmann Reporter, Der Spiegel Hamburg

Ms. Angela Friedrich Reporter, N24 (TV) Berlin

Mr. Fabian Gartmann Reporter, Handelsblatt Düsseldorf

Mr. Maximilian Holscher Junior Editor, Hessisch/Niedersaechsische Allgemeine Kassel

Mr. Marc Sauber Anchor, Bayerischer Rundfunk (TV) Munich

Dr. Anna Sauerbrey Editor, Tagesspiegel Berlin

Ms. Anne Seith Correspondent, Der Spiegel Frankfurt