The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program
/OVERVIEW: The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program supports media and journalism through three fellowship programs in San Francisco, New York City and Washington, DC.
IP TAKE: This is a single-issue funding opportunity for budding investigative journalists who can attend full-time and have completed all of their coursework from their degree-granting programs. This program solely supports newer journalists getting their start rather than veteran investigative journalists.
This is an accessible, but very competitive funding opportunity. You will find competition from colleagues finishing journalism programs all over the U.S. at some of the most prestigious programs, so prepare to have outside readers very familiar with the program or even previous grantees review your application prior to submitting here. This is a supportiv funder that works to grow the careers of budding investigative journalists that show great promise in their field. Don’t hesitate to mention how your lived experience as a woman, BIPOC, immigrant, refugee, LGBTQ person, and other identities that have been historically underrepresented in the media, inform your work and approach. Mother Jones is deeply invested in providing opportunities to a diverse array of individuals interested in investigative journalism.
This is also an approachable funder, so don’t hesitate to reach out with questions. This is an outstanding opportunity in a tight, under-funded field.
PROFILE: The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program (BBFP) is an extension of Mother Jones, a reader-supported investigative news organization based in San Francisco, California. Ben Bagdikian, who the program is named after, was a Pulitzer Prize winner, media critic and the dean of the UC-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Overall, this is a single-issue funder that focuses specifically on media and journalism. Through the program, fellows “build on their reporting and research experience, working with reporters, editors and our digital, audio and art teams to master the inner workings of nonprofit news.”
Grants for Media and Journalism
The Ben Bagdikian Fellowship Program offers a deep, “crash course in investigative journalism.” Mother Jones fellows examine “every aspect of a national multimedia outfit—covering breaking news, assisting and conducting investigations, ensuring accuracy and impact, and seeing from the inside how awards are won. Fellows build on their reporting and research experience, working with reporters, editors, and our digital, audio, and art teams to master all the dimensions of a prize-winning digital and print publication.”
The organization offers editorial, digital media and strategic communications fellowships that are full-time, one-year positions most often beginning in early August of each year. These positions are based in San Francisco, New York City and Washington, DC.
The application for the program opens up in the summer, so check their site often.
Important Grant Details:
Ben Bagdikian fellows receive a $3,6000 monthly stipend, plus an additional $200 per month for health care, supported by grants from the Irving Harris Foundation, Lannan Foundation, and Helen and Will Webster Foundation and by the generosity of Mother Jones’ contributors.
Fellows get to work in Mother Jones’ San Francisco, California or Washington, D.C. offices. The fellowship is described as a “demanding research-intensive foray into investigative journalism” and lasts one year. Application periods are subject to change but generally start on April 1 and end on October 1.
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