In Fellowships

"The counterintuitive "fallout" from a renewed obsession with water efficiency was quietly surfacing in more and more of my stories, but tackling such a complex topic head-on was a daunting proposition. The fellowship finally gave me the opportunity to step out of the day-to-day blur of reporting and think hard about an issue that is profoundly shaping the future of the West. Just as important, the fellowship afforded me the rare privilege of pursuing questions in the field without having the slightest idea where they would ultimately lead."
Matt Jenkins, West Coast correspondent, High Country News and 2006-2007 Fellow

“What made my fellowship valuable was the time uninterrupted to dig in and learn, time to contain in my head the layers of complexity in one topic and let them reshape each day with new information. And access to people not only who have expertise in my topic, but whose habits of thinking express precision and depth, and who seeded my thinking habits. Thank you for the experience, and for a deeply happy two weeks. I’m excited to lead our reporting team to a series that builds on the foundation the Lane Center fellowship helped me create."
Kat Snow, Editorial Director, KQED Radio and 2006-2007 Fellow

Each academic year, the Bill Lane Center welcomes up to six working journalists to Stanford as Western Enterprise Reporting Fellows. The program is designed to spur new reporting on Western topics by giving working reporters time and resources to explore a topic in depth. During a stay of up to two weeks, the fellows develop articles and broadcast series on the environment, politics, and culture of the Western U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The work produced as a result of these fellowships has been published or broadcast in a wide variety of media, from national and regional newspapers to public radio and major foreign newspapers and newsmagazines.

2008-2009 Call for Applications

The deadline for fellowship stays during Academic Year 2008-2009 (September 2008 to June 2009) is January 14, 2008. The Center will provide a $1500 honorarium as well as cover all costs of transportation, housing and meals while at Stanford, and other ancillary costs. Interested candidates may submit applications electronically to Priscilla Williams, Administrative Associate of the Bill Lane Center, at priscilla.williams@stanford.edu. Application packages should contain a cover letter indicating desired dates of fellowship, a resume, a one-page description of the proposed project, and the names and contact information for two references. If a candidate prefers to submit hard copies of their application, please contact Priscilla Williams for mailing information; packages must be received by the application deadline. Candidates can expect decisions to be made by March 15, 2008. Confirmation of the timing of the fellowship stay will be agreed upon by the candidate and the Center once an application has been accepted.

2006-2007 Fellows
The 2006-2007 fellows and their reporting projects are listed below, in order of the dates of their visits to campus.

MATT JENKINS, West Coast correspondent, High Country News; the All-American Canal and the paradox of efficiency (October 2006).
"The Efficiency Paradox," High Country News, February 2007, pdf.

GABRIELA OLIVARES TORRES, editor, ZETA; poverty on the U.S.-Mexico border (October-November 2006)
Poverty and Migration Series, ZETA, March 2007 (word doc) .

KAT SNOW, producer, KQED-FM; climate change and the California water supply (January-February 2007)

RAY RING, Northern Rockies editor, High Country News; property-rights legal groups and law firms in the American West (February 2007)