International Reporting Project Fellows Selected at JHU SAIS for Spring 2006 Program
Washington, D.C. - Eight U.S. journalists, including the first recipient of the inaugural NPR-Bucksbaum International Fellowship, have been awarded International Reporting Project (IRP) Fellowships at The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University for the spring 2006 program.
The 13-week fellowships, which are aimed at encouraging coverage of international by the U.S. news media, begin in 01/2006.
The U.S. journalists will focus on stories in Brazil, India, Kenya, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Russia and Uganda. The IRP program combines eight weeks of study in Washington and five weeks of individual overseas reporting. This is the first time IRP Fellows have been selected to report in Brazil, Mongolia and Nepal. Since 1998, fellows have reported from more than 75 different countries.
For the first time, the eight fellows include one journalist who will receive an additional six weeks of training with National Public Radio as the NPR-Bucksbaum International Fellow, a position made possible by a grant from Carolyn and Matthew Bucksbaum. The recipient of that fellowship is Bianca Vazquez Toness, a radio journalist from St. Paul, Minnesota. During her NPR training, she will focus on production, editorial and on-air skills, and produce a project for one of NPR's newsmagazines.
"We're delighted to add the NPR-Bucksbaum International Fellow to each of our next groups of IRP Fellows," said John Schidlovsky, IRP director.
The IRP Fellows for spring 2006, their affiliations and the countries on which they will focus are:
Phuong Ly, The Washington Post - Nigeria
Kelly McEvers, freelance radio, New York - Russia
Anna Panoka, WUWM-FM, Milwaukee - Mongolia
Sumathi Reddy, The Baltimore Sun - India
Elizabeth Shelburne, freelance print, Boston - Uganda
Barry Simmons, WTVF-TV, Nashville - Kenya
Bianca Vazquez Toness, freelance radio, St. Paul - Brazil
Doualy Xaykaothao, freelance radio, Bangkok - Nepal
Each year, two separate groups of eight U.S. journalists are selected as IRP Fellows. Since the program began in 1998, 130 journalists have been selected for the program and have reported from overseas for scores of news organizations.
Two of the spring 2006 IRP Fellows, Shelburne and Simmons, are focusing on international health issues. Each year, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides support for IRP Fellows to cover global health issues.
The spring 2006 fellows were selected by a committee of distinguished journalists that included: Matthew Algeo, formerly with "Marketplace" and an IRP alumnus; Don Belt, senior editor, National Geographic; Daphne Eviatar, freelance journalist and an IRP alumna; Alexandra Felsing, national editor, Charlotte Observer; Lonnie Isabel, former deputy managing editor, Newsday and Kathy Lally of The Washington Post.
The next deadline for applications for the IRP Fellowships and the NPR-Bucksbaum International Fellowship is 04/1/2006, for the fall 2006 program. For more information, call 202.663.7761, fax 202.663.7762, email [email protected].
The International Reporting Project is grateful for the generous support of the Pew Charitable Trusts, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Stanley Foundation, Caroline and Matthew Bucksbaum, the Philip L. Graham Fund, the New York Times Company Foundation and others. The program is based at SAIS, one of the country's leading graduate schools devoted to the study of international relations. Located in downtown Washington, the school enrolls more than 450 full-time graduate students and mid-career professionals and has trained more than 11,000 alumni in all aspects of international affairs.