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Western Journalism and Media Fellowship Program Will Begin Accepting Applications

Bill Lane Center Media Fellow speaks with a Stanford specialist

The Bill Lane Center for the American West has been supporting journalism about the West and its environment for a decade or more. Our Western Journalism and Media Fellowships provide opportunities for journalists working in all kinds of media — newspapers, magazines, radio, television, online, multimedia, video, film, data visualization and mapping, and books.

The fellowship enables journalists to:

  • visit Stanford and interact with researchers, scholars, and students;
  • develop or work on a project of their own design;
  • and spur new coverage and understanding of the American West.

The length of residence varies, typically from one week to three months, and we are particularly interested in supporting projects that:

  • intersect with ongoing research at the Center and Stanford;
  • address significant challenges facing the American West;
  • or explore promising new possibilities for journalism and the media in the region.

Travel and accommodation costs are covered, and a modest honorarium is offered.

To Apply

We are currently offering a single media fellowship with a $5,000 stipend for three months’ work. The grant will fund a journalist illuminating crucial issues about the region.
 
As of February 17, 2020, we will accept applications for an award to be made at the end of March 2020. The criteria are below. A plan to work with Stanford-based experts is not a requirement, but will ensure an application gets extra attention.
 
Criteria for acceptance:
  • The work should examine a crucial aspect of the West, its land, its people, its history, and the impact of the forces that power its economies
  • The applicant should have ties to a news organization which will guarantee serious consideration of publishing the work
  • Publication should happen within six months of the award, or by Oct. 31.
  • The work itself could be one or could be any combination of the following: print or online articles, photography or photo essays, informational graphics, podcasts, video journalism, documentary films, fact-based graphic novels or graphic documentaries.
Applications should go to Felicity Barringer, writer in residence at the Bill Lane Center for the American West: febarr [at] stanford.edu (subject: Web%20inquiry%20about%20BLC%20Media%20Fellowships) (febarr[at]stanford[dot]edu)

Recent Center News

As part of our online magazine's "Up Close" series, Felicity Barringer looks at the federal push to return American Bison herds to tribal control. The effort raises hopes that the once-abundant species can regenerate landscapes and restore native traditions.
A lawsuit blames farmers’ stream diversions for the desiccation of the Great Salt Lake; nearly all of Canada’s winter roads could be unusable by 2080; bills to ban lab-grown meat; another annual heat-associated death record in Arizona; and more environmental news from around the West.
Winter 2024 was a full quarter at the Bill Lane Center with ongoing preparations for our annual Rural West Conference and interviews for internship and research positions.