2023 Solution Journalism Network LEDE Fellowship -a yearlong opportunity for journalists ($5,000 honorarium)

Armed with seed funding of up to $5,000 and ample professional development opportunities, the LEDE Fellowship connects and supports journalism entrepreneurs with the goal of accelerating the spread of solutions journalism and creating meaningful impact.

LEDE fellows are motivated by a desire to spread solutions journalism, locally and globally. The fellowship provides seed funding of up to $5,000, professional development and the support of the LEDE cohort itself.

The LEDE Fellowship

LEVERAGE the network: Fellows should familiarize themselves with and seek out the expertise and resources of journalists, community members and others whose work is relevant to their project.

ENGAGE the community: Fellows should connect with, support and/or celebrate journalists doing solutions journalism as well as engage with the community that the journalism informs.

DISSEMINATE the knowledge: Projects must directly produce (or catalyze the production of) more solutions journalism. Projects must also be designed to create insight for fellow journalists, newsrooms and other solutions journalism practitioners in the broader SJN network.

ELEVATE what — or who — is missing: Successful projects will help tell the whole story about what’s working, by amplifying marginalized voices and telling stories that problem-focused reporting misses.

Fellowship Details

As a LEDE Fellow, you will:

Join a community of fellow entrepreneurs with whom you will share best practices, overcome challenges, recognize successes (and failures) and collectively build on the global spread of solutions journalism.
Train in skills relevant to your project proposal — revenue generation, effective community engagement, reporting with an equity lens, etc.
Gain access to and collaborate with SJN staff members, key solutions journalism innovators and other journalism professionals in our 5,000-plus member network of journalists around the world.
Receive an honorarium of up to $5,000, proportional to the scope of your project.
Attend a future Solutions Journalism Summit with complimentary registration (a $750 value).

Fellowship Structure

Monthly calls with fellowship cohort similarly focused on expanding audiences’ access to solutions journalism
Bimonthly calls with the entire cohort of LEDE Fellows and alumni, as well as select guest speakers who will support the fellows’ professional development;
On-demand 1:1 calls and other forms of support from SJN’s LEDE Fellowship manager, Julia Hotz, to help fellows design and deliver project goals;

Benefits

Deep connections with a tight-knit community of solutions journalism fellows from around the world, who will serve as lasting sources of accountability, problem-solving and encouragement during and beyond the yearlong fellowship;
Access to exclusive professional development sessions from SJN staff and external partners on storytelling, engagement, fundraising, equity and more;
An honorarium of up to $5,000, proportional to the scope of the fellow’s project

Timeline:

APPLICATION ROUND 1: (December 5 – January 4): Two-question application and “What is solutions journalism?” quiz. Application should take no longer than 2 hours to complete.
APPLICATION ROUND 2 (January 6 – January 13) More in-depth project pitch and 60-second “Why LEDE Fellowship?” video.
INTERVIEWS (January 16 – January 20): Final-round candidates will be invited for a 25-minute interview with LEDE Fellowship manager Julia Hotz and another member of the SJN team.
SELECTION (January 23): The 2023 LEDE Fellows will be announced.
KICKOFF CALL: Tuesday January 31, 2023 12pm ET

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