Call for Applications: Community Journalism Fellowship (United Kingdom)

The Fellowship offers training and mentoring in “constructive journalism”, a form of local journalism that focuses on quality reporting that is critical, balanced, nuanced and engaging to better serve democracy.

About the Fellowship

• The Community Journalism Fellowship runs for six months and comprises three nine-week units – a Foundation module, a Further module and an Extended Project module.
• Only three or four Fellows are accepted in any single cohort ensuring plenty of one-on-one training – and an intense training experience that will fast-track your path into journalism.
• Each Fellow will be working on one of Social Streets’ four titles in Tower Hamlets (Roman Road LDN, Bethnal Green LDN, Whitechapel LDN and Poplar LDN). The Fellows will be given the title of Community Reporter of the publication for the duration of the Course.
• At the end of the Fellowship, Fellows will have an extensive portfolio of work, connections with like-minded writers, experience in running a publication, and a thorough knowledge of community journalism, an emerging form of local journalism that will inform the media of the future.

Funding Information

• In recognition of this commitment, Community Journalism Fellows receive a stipend of £3,000 to support them through the programme.
• The stipend is paid in three instalments: £1,000 after the completion of each module.
• It is essential that Fellows are able to participate in all the sessions and keep up with their assignments. The practical, peer-to-peer learning environment relies on group participation. If one Fellow is not 100% committed and present, it negatively impacts the other Fellows in the program.

Fellowship Modules

• Module 1: Foundation Course in Community Journalism
  • The Foundation Course will give participants a broad understanding of community journalism and first-hand experience with a variety of forms that contribute to community journalism.
    • An introduction to community journalism.
    • How to find community-led stories.
    • Mobile photography and picture sourcing.
    • Writing news using the principles of constructive journalism.
    • Writing for online: content optimization.
    • Image processing and optimization.
    • Writing reviews and the search for objectivity.
    • Writing about heritage (research, relevancy).
    • Travel writing that explodes the five senses.
• Module 2: Further Course in Community Journalism
  • The Further Course will help you community journalism that requires sensitivity and care.
    • Cross-cultural communications.
    • Long form writing, structure, pace, treatments, literary devices.
    • Writing for social justice – persuasive writing, FOIs and RoRs.
    • Researching and writing about culture.
    • Interviewing people – tips, tricks, questions, recording, transcribing.
    • A portrait of a person – painting with words.
    • Developing a series – solutions journalism and data journalism.
    • Pitching (editorial voice, hooks, angles, standfirsts and pitching).
    • Review and presentations.
• Module 3: Extended Project
  • Once graduated, students must submit a 6,000-word dissertation, presented as four to six articles, about a specialist topic. This should be investigatory in nature, either solutions-based or data journalism.
  • During this module, Fellows will have three tutorials set at flexible times from a member of the wider editorial team to discuss progress of the project.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Fellowship is designed for people with some writing experience who want to deepen their writing and interviewing ability, learn specific community journalism skills, and build editorship skills. Applicants must be able to demonstrate the following:
  • Fluent English and strong ‘writing-at-speed’ skills (there will be a timed task as part of the application process).
  • Writing experience or journalism qualifications.
  • An interest in community journalism, social justice, constructive journalism, anthropology or cultural issues. It is preferable if applicants also show an awareness of the social, economic and political issues faced by inner city, diverse and deprived communities such as Tower Hamlets.
  • A connection with Tower Hamlets is favoured. While the Fellowship is open to all, it prioritises those who were born, raised or educated in Tower Hamlets or its borderlands.

For more information, visit Social Streets.