The Online News Association, the world’s largest membership organization of digital journalists, is extending the deadline to June 7 for applications for the 2012 MJ Bear Fellowships for early-career digital journalists, in honor of founding member MJ Bear.
Apply here »
The search committee will select three promising, up-and-coming digital journalists — two in the United States or Canada and one internationally, in partnership with MSN International — who are just beginning to make their voices heard in the industry.
Find out how to qualify and apply and get inspired by the current fellows, their blogs and their videos.
Selected Fellows will be paired with a digital news leader as a mentor; receive an expense-paid trip to the 2012 Online News Association Conference & Awards Banquet (ONA12), Sept. 20-22, in San Francisco, where they’ll have a chance to share their fresh perspectives; and a free, one-year ONA membership.
Applicants must be working journalists between the ages of 23 and 30 and fluent in English. They will be asked to describe their recent concepts, experiments or projects that move digital journalism forward or resulted in valuable lessons or outcomes, and also provide a recommendation and a personal statement.
Bear, whose wide-ranging career took her to pivotal roles at Microsoft’s MSN Portals and MSN International, NPR and American University, was renowned for her kindness and digital know-how. She played a vital role in ONA’s history as a member of the original Board of Directors, helping to incorporate the organization in 1999 and serving on the Education, Fundraising, Conference and Legal Affairs committees until 2003.
The goal of the Fellowship, in Bear’s own words, is "to promote the voices of young professionals working in or training to work in the field of online news by presenting programs at ONA’s annual conference, or in other venues. The programs will be designed to explore and showcase innovations, developments and new ideas in the field.”
About ONA
The Online News Association is the world’s largest association of digital journalists. ONA’s mission is to inspire innovation and excellence among journalists to better serve the public. The membership includes news writers, producers, designers, editors, bloggers, developers, photographers and others who produce news for the Internet or other digital delivery systems, as well as academic members and others interested in the development of online journalism. ONA also hosts the Online News Association annual conference and administers the Online Journalism Awards.
For more information, contact:
Jane McDonnell, Executive Director
Online News Association
director@journalists.org