The fantastic spring cohort with ThienVinh Nguyen and Natasha Riddle is wrapping up, and the Island Press Urban Resilience Project is excited to continue the urbanist journalism fellowship this fall with Greater Greater Washington! It’s a part-time, paid position for two local budding journalism professionals who are interested in the forces that shape how Washington grows and develops. Fellows will primarily report and write stories focused on equity and urban resilience.

There continues to be a dearth of opportunities for young reporters to gain paid experience, and we frequently have ideas for in-depth investigations but lack the bandwidth to execute. This fellowship is designed to help local journalists launch their careers, gain more of a background in urbanism, and provide our readers with an even richer array of stories from underrepresented voices.

Fellows must have prior experience in journalism (graduate students preferred). They will be expected to write short stories regularly and will also pitch, report, and write two longer-form pieces. Fellows will work closely with GGWash and Island Press editors to take a deeper dive into how the region is growing and changing, and will gain the opportunity to hone their journalism skills, deepen their urbanism knowledge, and publish a variety of pieces.

Here’s who we’re looking for

Can you sniff out a great story? Are you able to take wonky and esoteric subjects and make them relatable to a broad audience? Can you find and highlight the human impact of a policy? Do you have a unique perspective that is currently missing from regional conversations about urban planning? If that sounds like you, you just might be a great fit!

People who reflect underrepresented voices within the Greater Greater Washington community are encouraged to apply, including (but not limited to) people of color, women, and/or gender non-conforming individuals, and people from or who currently live in areas of the region that are under-resourced or have been negatively impacted by historic urban planning policies.

If you know someone who may be a good candidate, please send them the fellowship announcement, and share this post widely with your networks.

How to apply

See the full fellowship description here. Please send the following to jobs@ggwash.org by midnight on August 11, 2019:

  • Resume
  • Two clips
  • Cover letter explaining your interest in and your qualifications for the fellowship, two relevant story ideas, and why you want to be a part of our team
  • Two references

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