Religion News Service (RNS) and Interfaith America (IA) are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the 2024-2025 RNS/IA Religion Journalism Fellowship. Applications will close on July 17, 2024.
Returning for its fourth year, the fellowship will run from September 2024 to May 2025.
This fellowship serves to develop future religion news journalists by deepening their understanding of religious expression in individual lives and diverse communities. It also aims to develop skills specific to covering religion, belief, faith, and spirituality.
“11 journalists have graduated from our program since 2021, and each of them have enhanced our understanding of the intersection of religion and American civic life,” says Paul O’Donnell, editor-in-chief at Religion News Service. “They have helped us build a community of storytellers who are deeply passionate about uplifting stories from diverse faith communities.”
Hanna Vioque, one of the three fellows in the 2023-24 cohort, covered international stories like a small Spanish city’s bid to build Europe’s biggest Buddha.
“The fellowship offered me the incredible opportunity to explore the intersections between faith and other subjects that piqued my interest, from the environment to social media and immigration,” says Vioque. “Editors were open to all ideas we had, which was refreshing, and they really trusted us fully throughout the process – from pitch to final edit.”
Over nine months, fellows had the chance to speak with some of the nation’s leading religion journalists, including an in-person writing and reporting workshop in Chicago with Deputy International Editor for The New York Times, Laurie Goodstein.
This year, fellows will again dive deeply into the world of religion news through a series of mentorships with senior journalists, workshops, journalist panels, editorial meetings, tutoring on critical religion resources, and two fully paid trips to the Religion News Association Conference and a writing workshop in Chicago.
The fellows will be awarded a $4000 stipend and expected to report and write at least one feature religion story per month, which will be published on the RNS website and the Interfaith America Magazine and will receive a fellowship certificate upon completion.
Fellowship FAQs
Who is eligible to apply?
Applications are open to all journalism graduates who have completed their degree in the past three years, and to freelance reporters who may not have a journalism degree but have at least a year of relevant reporting experience. This fellowship is currently only open to people living in the United States.
What are the fellowship expectations?
Fellows will pitch stories during monthly editorial meetings and work under the guidance of RNS editors to edit and publish them. The stories will be co-published on the RNS and Interfaith America websites. Fellows are expected to produce at least one in-depth feature story per month.
To receive the fellowship certificate, fellows must have published at least 4 feature stories by the end of the fellowship and attended all monthly editorial meetings, the two in-person convenings, and guest speaker sessions.
What’s the fellowship timeline?
The fellowship runs from September 2024 to May 2025.
How to apply
To apply, fill out this online form. Application deadline is on July 17, 2024.
For further questions and inquiries email [email protected].
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About Interfaith America
Interfaith America (formerly known as Interfaith Youth Core) is a national nonprofit that equips the next generation of citizens and professionals with the knowledge and skills needed for leadership in a religiously diverse world. Partnering with civic groups, higher education institutions, public health and business, Interfaith America is dedicated to making interfaith cooperation the norm and building Interfaith America in the 21st century.
About RNS
Religion News Service (RNS) is an independent, nonprofit, and award-winning source of global news on religion, spirituality, culture, and ethics, reported by a staff of professional journalists. Founded in 1934, RNS seeks to inform readers with objective reporting and insightful commentary and is relied on by secular and faith-based news organizations in many countries. DEI Statement Interfaith America and Religion News Service are committed to supporting work at the intersection of racial equity and interfaith cooperation. We believe in the essential contributions of countless religious and secular traditions that affirm dignity and justice for every human being. We recognize and celebrate that movements for a better world—including the anti-Apartheid movement, and Civil Rights movement—have been fueled by interfaith cooperation. All our programs and projects incorporate a lens of equity and inclusion.
