Independent news from the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance

2018 NAJF student applications extended through Feb. 14

Priestess Bearstops (Oglala Lakota) learns camera-operating skills for broadcast during EIJ17 in Anaheim, Claifornia Priestess Bearstops (Oglala Lakota) learns camera-operating skills for broadcast during EIJ17 in Anaheim, Claifornia

The Native American Journalists Association is calling for student applications for the 2018 Native American Journalism Fellowship (NAJF). NAJA is committed to increasing the representation of Native journalists in mainstream media. NAJA supports and empowers members through the annual fellowship, which is open to current American Indian college and graduate students pursuing journalism degrees at a higher learning institutions.

Students

NAJF is an opportunity for college and graduate students to deepen and broaden their reporting and multimedia skills, while learning from tribal journalists and news industry professionals from across the country. Selected fellows will have the option of gaining three hours of upper-level internship credit through their respective universities and NAJA.

Student fellows will receive:

  • Multimedia training
  • Professional NAJA mentor
  • Skills for job-readiness
  • Connections to media jobs and internships through NAJA’s national network
  • Upper-level college credit hours
  • Immersion in an on-site newsroom experience during the 2018 National Native Media Conference in Miami, Florida July 16-22.

Once selected to participate in the program, NAJ Fellows will be responsible for the following:

  • Attend the on-site, newsroom immersion training in Miami, Florida July 16-22.
  • Attend regular meetings with assigned mentor
  • Participate in all planned webinar training in advance of the on-site newsroom experience
  • Participate in online check-ins/training throughout the year
  • Write/edit reporting assignments throughout the year for inclusion on the NAJA Native Voice website
  • Seek media-focused internships
  • Professional conduct: All fellows are required to be at all meetings on time and to act professional. If not, they will be dismissed from the program.

The extended deadline for submitting student applications is Feb. 14, 2018. You can apply online.

Visit the NAJA Membership page to renew or become a new member. Annual membership dues are $20 for college students.

The extended deadline to submit applications is Feb. 14, 2018. Applicants will be notified in February 2018 of their application status. Incomplete or emailed applications will not be accepted.

For questions or inquiries about student-related programs, contact NAJA Education Committee Chair Dr. Victoria LaPoe at vlapoe@naja.com.

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear

Jodi Rave Spotted Bear is the founder and director of the Indigenous Media Freedom Alliance, a 501-C-3 nonprofit organization with offices in Bismarck, N.D. and the Fort Berthold Reservation. Jodi spent 15 years reporting for the mainstream press. She's been awarded prestigious Nieman and John S. Knight journalism fellowships at Harvard and Stanford, respectively. She also an MIT Knight Science Journalism Project fellow. Her writing is featured in "The Authentic Voice: The Best Reporting on Race and Ethnicity," published by Columbia University Press. Jodi currently serves as a Society of Professional Journalists at-large board member, an SPJ Foundation board member, and she chairs the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee. Jodi has won top journalism awards from mainstream and Native press organizations. She earned her journalism degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder.