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Nov. 27, 2013, noon

Students: Spend the summer working with Nieman Lab via the Google Journalism Fellowship

The tech giant is offering opportunities for students to work with ten different journalism organizations next summer, including us. The deadline to apply is January 31.

Hey students: Want to spend next summer working with Nieman Lab?

I’m very happy to say that we will again be one of the host organizations for the Google Journalism Fellowships. Here’s Google’s description:

In an effort to help develop the next crop of reporters working to keep the world informed, educated and entertained, we have created the Google Journalism Fellowship. As a company dedicated to making the world’s information easily accessible, Google recognizes that behind many blue links is a journalist and that quality journalism is a key ingredient of a vibrant and functioning society.

The program is aimed at undergraduate, graduate and journalism students interested in using technology to tell stories in new and dynamic ways. The Fellows will get the opportunity to spend the summer contributing to a variety of organizations — from those that are steeped in investigative journalism to those working for press freedom around the world and to those that are helping the industry figure out its future in the digital age.

There will be a focus on data driven journalism, online free expression and rethinking the business of journalism. The 10-week long Fellowship will open with a week at Google followed by nine weeks at one of the participating organizations.

It’s a chance to come spend time in Cambridge working with us as we research and report on the future of news — writing stories, working on projects, and generally trying to learn more about where the news ecosystem is headed. Last summer, we were very happy to have Sarah Darville and Linda Kinstler here as our fellows. (Sarah’s now at Chalkbeat New York, née Gotham Schools; Linda’s at The New Republic. You can see the stories Sarah wrote for us here and Linda’s here.)

We’re one of 10 journalism institutions that will be hosting Google Journalism Fellows this year, up from eight last year. The other nine are pretty great, too: the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project, Poynter, PRI.org, ProPublica, the Sunlight Foundation, and The Texas Tribune.

The way it works is that you pick one specific host organization to apply to — so if, say, investigative reporting was your main interest, you might pick CIR, IRE, or ProPublica. In your application, you can also choose to allow the seven other host organizations to consider at your application if your first choice doesn’t select you. (Some real talk, though: We get enough applications — over 2,000 last year between all the organizations! — that logistically, it’s unlikely that you’ll be considered by a host other than the one you select as your top choice. So pick well!)

There’s a stipend: $8,000 for the 10 weeks (which starts June 9), plus a travel budget of $1,000. And note this eligibility requirement from Google: “[W]e are only accepting students based in the United States and eligible to work in the U.S., if your host organization is located in the U.S. (e.g. U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, and individuals with a current U.S. student visa).”

You can read an FAQ about the new program (including eligibility info), learn about all the host institutions, and apply. The application deadline is January 31.

(One last nomenclature-related thing: Even though this uses the word “fellowship” in its title and is based at the Nieman Foundation, note that it’s quite different than our traditional Nieman Fellowships, which allow working journalists to come spend a year taking classes and working on a course of study at Harvard. This is an opportunity for a student to come work with Nieman Lab staff for the summer, reporting on the future of journalism. Apologies in advance to anyone confused by the terminology.)

Joshua Benton is the senior writer and former director of Nieman Lab. You can reach him via email (joshua_benton@harvard.edu) or Twitter DM (@jbenton).
POSTED     Nov. 27, 2013, noon
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