Social Justice Reporting for a Global America: International Reporting Fellowship Program for U.S.-based Journalists

This program is no longer active.

About the Program

Plagued by the twin challenges of a slow economy and digital disruption, many U.S. news organizations are cutting back on foreign coverage and are shrinking their editorial staffs.

But journalists can play an essential role in raising awareness around international social justice issues, including women’s rights, corruption, human trafficking, poverty, religious tolerance, environmental issues, migration and education.

It is with this in mind that ICFJ announced the Social Justice Reporting for a Global America Program, sponsored by the Ford Foundation.

Through this fellowship, U.S.-based journalists gained foreign reporting experience and an opportunity to cover important international social justice issues around the world. While overseas, the Fellows blogged about their experiences and also shared tidbits about their reporting assignments on social media including Twitter and Facebook.

Applicants were required to present a project proposal in their application, detailing the reporting project they would be interested in pursuing.

Selected journalists attended a week-long orientation at ICFJ’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., where they fine-tuned their reporting projects and gained new reporting skills to work overseas. Following orientation, fellows reported in the field for up to two weeks - between June and August. Upon returning to the United States, they finished their stories and published them through their media outlets.