About the Media Fellowships in Health Program
What the Fellowship Provides
- Stipend
- Core Program Activities
- Multi-media training
How to Apply
- Eligible Projects
- Eligibility Requirements
- Timeline
Advisory Committee
Site Visits and Events
Media Fellowships Q&A
2007 Kaiser Media Fellows
2006 Kaiser Media Fellows and Fellows' Work
2004 Kaiser Media Fellows and Fellows' Work
2003 Kaiser Media Fellows and Fellows' Work
2002 Kaiser Media Fellows and Fellows' Work
Past Kaiser Media Fellows and Fellows' Work
About the Media Fellowships in Health Program
Reporting on health today means coverage of a wide range of complex financing and public policy issues - from changes in public programs and the marketplace to the problems many Americans face paying for health insurance or prescription drug coverage. As health issues remain front page news, and an inextricable part of any discussion about the federal budget and a presidential election, the job of the health journalist has become more formidable. Today's health journalist must cover an ever-expanding range of complex issues and make them understandable and accessible to the general public. No one doubts the importance of the task. The impact the media has on the decisions our country makes in health is evident. The media plays an important role in shaping the debate and helping to determine the choices policy-makers and the public make when it comes to health care.
The purpose of the Kaiser Media Fellowship in Health Program, started in 1993, is to help journalists and commentators do the best possible job of keeping the public informed about health issues at this critical time in the evolution of our health care system.
The goal of the fellowship is to:
- Provide a highly flexible range of opportunities tailored to each fellow's interests
- Help journalists improve the quality of the work they do
- Provide time to research specific topics
- Deepen participants' commitment to becoming specialists in health reporting
- Help journalists report across different media, with training where necessary
Fellows may want to participate in the fellowship program on a part-time basis and continue writing or reporting during their fellowship. There is no bar on doing this, provided it does not prevent fellows from fully participating in core fellowship activities and completing fellowship work, and provided that the allocation of time to such assignments is agreed to at the outset of the fellowship. Additionally, fellows are encouraged to do reporting based on their fellowship research and to experiment with different media or forms of writing. Most fellows work from home, or base themselves at a local academic or research institution. There is no obligation to pursue academic coursework, although that is certainly an option open to all fellows.
Fellows have the option of undertaking a fellowship project for up to nine months—but shorter fellowship projects are possible, with a minimum one-month research/reporting project. Typically, fellows begin their fellowships in September of each year. There may be individual needs that make this timing inconvenient- for example, some fellows may want to complete projects over a longer time frame, while others may find it fits better with current work assignments to start mid-summer. Provided fellows participate in all core program events, which will be spaced over the year, every effort will be made to be responsive to such considerations.
Since each fellow pursues their own individual projects, their fellowship experience varies widely. For example, a reporter from a regional newspaper or TV station might want to spend time in Washington, D.C. examining legislation on health care issues, while a Washington-based reporter might want to spend time in certain states or regions to see how policy is translated into practice at a local level.
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What the Fellowship Provides
Stipend
Each fellow will be awarded a stipend of up to $55,000 for a nine month fellowship, or a prorated amount for fellows who spend less time completing their project.
Additional expenses, including travel, will also be met. Applicants will need to submit a budget outline and an estimated timeframe for their project that provides some detail of the additional expenses requested. A maximum budget for these expenses will be individually negotiated at the outset of the fellowship as part of the discussion and agreement about the precise scope and scheduling of each fellow's activities. Where possible, the fellow's employer will be actively encouraged to supplement the fellowship stipend.
Core Program Activities
All Fellows will be required to accomplish the following:
- Complete at least one individually designed research project or field practicum.
- Meet regularly with other Kaiser media fellows and with a range of leading experts, policymakers, journalists, and others in the health field.
- Participate in the program site visits described below.
Projects can be designed to last a month or two, or as long as nine months. They could result in a series of in-depth articles, a book, a radio or television special, or they could simply inform future reporting. When applying, applicants are not required to have a detailed project proposal; a broad outline is sufficient. Projects are expected to be diverse in focus and scope, while reflecting a strong emphasis on health policy and health financing issues. As part of the final selection process, shortlisted applicants discuss their project proposals with members of the program's national advisory committee. Once selected, fellows design their individual projects in regular consultation with the program's executive director and other program advisors.
All fellows, regardless of the length of their projects, will take part in a series of program seminars and group site visits during the course of the year. Typically, there are up to five program site visits during the fellowship year, varying in length from a couple of days to a week, for a total 4-5 weeks in any calendar year. These site visits and events provide journalists with the opportunity for in-depth learning about specific topics in health policy, and aim to address timely policy questions which are both current and complex.
These programs vary widely in focus and location. In the past they have ranged from a weeklong series of briefings in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast focused on the health post-Katrina health issues facing the area, to a weeklong program in Canada focused on prescription drug pricing, to a daylong briefing in Washington, D.C., on quality of care issues.
See the Site Visits and Events page for more details on fellowship meetings.
Multi-media Training
The fellowship program is giving an increasing emphasis to helping journalists report across different media, with trainings designed to address the fellows' needs. In September 2007, the fellows met in Washington, D.C., to discuss the projects they would each undertake during the fellowship year, and for an intensive three-day skills building workshop on multi-media reporting including blogging, and audio-visual reporting. In November, the fellows met again at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, for a 3-day program on spreadsheet reporting and multi-media techniques and technologies.
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How to Apply
To Apply
There is no application form. Applications are due in March of each year - for the 2008 Fellowship program, applications must be received by Friday, March 7, 2008. To apply, send the following materials to the program's executive director:
- A detailed letter describing your reasons for applying; your career goals; a short outline of the project/s you would want to complete during the fellowship year; and what you would aim to accomplish as a result of the fellowship.
- Budget outline and estimated project timeframe (see more details below)
- Curriculum vitae or resume.
- Where relevant, details of previous awards or fellowships
- Examples of recent work
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- Print applicants: Original clips should be pasted or photocopied on to standard 8.5”x11” or 11”x17” paper (applicants may submit an original copy along with the mounted copy). If clips are reduced in size to fit the page, they should be legible. Special paper, margins, etc. are not necessary. Most importantly clips should be clean and clear, easy to photocopy and able to fit in a standard file folder.
- For photographs, please submit regular prints and/or photocopies – no slides.
- Broadcast applicants: TV applicants should send DVDs; radio applicants please send CDs. Please label each piece with your name, program title, running time and date aired.
- Work samples will not be returned to applicants.
- One or more letters of support from other journalists familiar with your work, including a letter from your current senior editor or news director supporting your application (freelance journalists should send a letter of support from an editor, producer or colleague familiar with your recent work). Letters can be sent directly to Penny Duckham or included in your application file.
Budget outline and estimated timeframe: Applicants should describe how they would envisage carrying out their project and a broad timeline for achieving this, together with a brief sense of the likely project budget. For example, that in the first two months this project might involve travel to abc states or cities to interview abc projects or experts, at a likely cost of abc dollars.
Eligible Projects
Research/reporting projects should be focused on U.S. health policy and financing issues such as prescription drugs, health insurance coverage, the uninsured, Medicare, Medicaid, health care costs, and racial and ethnic disparities in care.
The fellowships program was recently revised and now focuses a bit more sharply to address the original reason we established the program fifteen years ago—to help improve reporting and educate the public on complex U.S. health policy issues (The Foundation now operates separate programs on global health reporting).
Selection for the fellowships is highly competitive. Each year, there are approximately 100 applications from health reporters across the country with a wide range of excellent project proposals. Fellows are selected primarily on the basis of previous and potential work, on the applicant's demonstrated commitment to report on health issues, and on the committee's determination of which candidates would benefit most from the particular opportunities this program offers.
Priority will be given to projects otherwise unlikely to be undertaken or completed, focusing on issues that have not been reported or are under-reported, and which have a high likelihood of being published/aired and of reaching a mass audience. Priority may also be given to those that are complex and would benefit from an in-depth study or the opportunity to travel.
Mail fellowship applications to:
Penny Duckham
Executive Director
Kaiser Media Fellowships Program
Kaiser Family Foundation
2400 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Phone: 650-234-9220
Fax: 650-854-4800 or 650-854-7465
Email: pduckham@kff.org
Eligibility Requirements
Any journalist, editor, or producer specializing in health reporting-or wanting to do so-is eligible, with one main restriction: applicants must be U.S. citizens, or must work for an accredited U.S. media organization. There is no age restriction, but typically fellows are in the early to mid-career range, with at least five years experience as a journalist.
Time Frame
Applications for the Kaiser Media Fellowships in Health Program are due in March of each year (for the 2008 Fellowship, they must be received by Friday, March 7, 2008) and selections are announced in May. The first meeting of the Fellowship is in Washington, DC in September.
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Advisory Committee
A national advisory committee makes the final selection of fellows, and helps in shaping and enhancing their fellowship experience, and in developing the fellowship program to its full potential.
The following members make up the advisory committee:
- Hale Champion, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
- Paul Delaney, Director, Initiative on Racial Mythology, Washington, D.C.
- Timothy Johnson, M.D., Medical Editor, ABC News
- Bill Kovach, Chairman, Committee of Concerned Journalists
- Laurie McGinley, Deputy Bureau Chief, Global Economics Bureau, Wall Street Journal
- Joanne Silberner, Health Policy Correspondent, National Public Radio
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