Rappler opens 2024 journalism fellowships for students, community, int’l journalists

MANILA, Philippines – Rappler and the Journalism for Nation Building Foundation (JNBF) are now accepting applications for their two journalism fellowship programs – the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship and #FactsMatter Fellowship. 

This is the fourth cycle of the program since its launch in 2021 and the second time that campus journalists are being included. 

The fellowship programs aim to equip fellows with the tools needed to fight disinformation and effectively cover disruptive digital technologies like generative AI, in both local and international spaces. Specifically:

• The Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship, via the Rappler-JNBF partnership, is being offered to local journalists in honor of the late investigative reporter Aries Rufo, who wrote for Newsbreak and Rappler on various issues, such as the church, judiciary, politics, and elections.

• The #FactsMatter Fellowship seeks to provide Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) newsrooms and their chosen journalist representatives the opportunity to better understand digital media, their impact on conversations about critical issues, how these could be manipulated, and how this manipulation can be prevented. The goal is to enrich coverage of these issues.

Both fellowships are supported by the National Endowment for Democracy.

What do both fellowship programs entail? 

In this program’s latest cycle, the fellowship components include:

• Four-month journalism program.  Both fellowships will run from August 12 to December 13, 2024. During this period, fellows’ attendance in scheduled virtual orientation and training sessions, as well as check-in meetings are a must. 

• Training sessions. A series of online and in-person training sessions will be conducted by Rappler senior editors and other key members of its research and data teams. These sessions will cover a wide range of topics that will help fellows understand and address disinformation, as well as do public interest journalism. Online training sessions will be conducted at least twice a month complemented by on-site training at the Rappler newsroom from September 26-29, 2024.

• Regular fact checks and community story submissions. Aries Rufo fellows will do research and submit on a weekly basis stories incorporating fact-checking, along with current and relevant local issues. Meanwhile, #FactsMatter fellows representing their newsrooms will also work on media-related and fact-check stories, or articles about their respective countries in relation to media on a monthly basis. 

• Long-form final project. All fellows will need to submit as a final requirement a long-form story (either investigative or in-depth) related to the information ecosystem, the state of disinformation, or the use of social media and/or technology in their respective countries.

Who can apply? How many will be selected? 

The Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship is open to the following:

• Filipino campus journalists enrolled in an accredited college or university and an active member of a campus publication or campus outlet at the time of application.
  
• Filipino community journalists who are either freelancers or employed by a media organization (print, television, or online) at the time of application.  

The #FactsMatter Fellowship is open to:

• Southeast Asian journalists working in ASEAN newsrooms (in print, television, or online), with an excellent command of the English language. The newsroom should nominate a reporter and an editor who should be working together on a final long-form project.

At least 6 campus journalists, 4 community journalists, and 3 Southeast Asian journalists will be selected for this cycle’s fellowship programs. 

What comes with the fellowship awards?

Filipino fellows will receive the following monthly stipends:

• Student/campus journalists: P8,000
• Local community journalists: P17,000

ASEAN fellows and their newsrooms will receive a grant in two tranches:

• International fellows: Total of US$5,000

What are the application requirements?

Interested applicants must complete the application form and submit the following as attachments:

For student/campus journalists

• Endorsement letter from a journalism professor/faculty member attesting to the student’s skills and capabilities
• Updated one-page résumé

For local community journalists

• Updated one-page résumé
• For regular employees: an endorsement letter from an affiliated newsroom/organization indicating that 1) payment of salaries or fees for the applicant will continue during the fellowship, and 2) expressing commitment by the media organization of the accepted fellow to cross-publish the final long-form story output of its journalist fellow
• For freelancers: an endorsement letter from an editor of a reputable media organization that will commit to cross-publish the final long-form story output

For Southeast Asian journalists

• Updated one-page résumés of the reporter and editor working together
• Endorsement letter from the applicant’s newsroom supervising editor. The letter should also indicate that 1) the senior editor commits to work with the nominated journalist applicant during the program and 2) guarantees that their affiliated newsroom will publish the final long-form story produced by the reporter-editor tandem
• Must have a valid passport that would permit travel to the Philippines for the onsite training in September 2024

All letters should be addressed to Chay F. Hofileña, Rappler Investigative Editor and Training Head.

What is the application process like?

Interested applicants for both fellowship programs must complete and submit this application form by July 12, 2024 at 11:59 pm (Manila time). Responses generated by AI will be automatically disqualified. 

Potential applicants who pass preliminary qualifying requirements will be invited to a written screening test and final interview in July. 

For any questions or concerns, and to submit applications, email us at fellowships@rappler.com. – Rappler.com