Eligibility:

Eligible Applicants: 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.

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.

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 revised in 2005 and is now focused 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 a separate fellowship program for global health reporting.

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.

To Apply

There is no application form. Applications are due in March of each year.  To apply, send the following materials to the program's executive director at the address below:

• 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.
• Include a brief description of what you would hope to do with the work beyond the immediate outlet you anticipate using-- i.e. which other media platforms that would suit your project do you have skills in or access to? Also, include a brief summary of the tools and training that the Foundation can provide in order to help you accomplish this.
• 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
• • 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.

Mail fellowship applications to:
Penny Duckham
Executive Director
Kaiser Media Fellowships Program
Kaiser Family Foundation
2400 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Tel: 650-234-9220; fax: 650-854-4800