Help choose the 2018 JAWS Fellows

by Nikki Raz

This year the Fellowship Committee, with the help of the Legacy Committee, is offering 5 fellowships to 14 women.

We are expecting to receive the most applications we’ve ever had this year, and we need volunteers to help us review applications.

The time commitment will be a maximum of three hours of work over the course of one month (between mid May and mid June), and very specific review criteria will be provided.

It would be great to have previous volunteers return this year, and it would be even better to get more and new people involved. Volunteering to help choose the next cohort of fellows a very rewarding process, and it’s what JAWS is all about: Paying it forward.

“You get to see the amazing scope of experiences that young women are bringing to JAWS and it also gives you an insight into things that are happening in the industry all over the country,” said JAWS board member Megan Kamerick, who has served as JAWS President and was once a JAWS fellow herself.

We are looking for about 50 volunteers

• Here is what the job entails:
  You will be assigned to a group of applications. The more volunteers we have, the smaller the group of applications to review!
• You will read the application materials and judge applications according to very specific instructions you will receive.

Please review the information below and email me (Nikki) at by May 1 if JAWS can count on your help. Also indicate in the email whether you have a preference for which fellowship applications you would like to review.

We need 20 volunteers to review Emerging Journalist Fellowship applications.

The Emerging Journalist Fellowship

Each year JAWS selects 10 women who are just starting careers in journalism. We are looking for journalists with at least one but no more than five years of professional journalism experience. Winners are selected based on a combination of merit, financial need and their potential contribution to JAWS as an organization that supports diversity across race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, media platform, beat and location.

We need 10 volunteers to review Diversity Fellowship applications.

The Diversity Fellowship

The Journalism and Women Symposium each year selects one journalist from a community traditionally underrepresented in the media, and whose work supports diversity. The goal of the Diversity Fellowship is to help the practice of journalism better reflect society. This is an opportunity for journalists who are traditionally underrepresented in newsrooms, including but not limited to women of color, journalists in the LGBTQ community and those with disabilities. Applicants should have at least three years of experience.

We need 10 volunteers to help us review Entrepreneurial Fellowship applications.

The Entrepreneurial Fellowship

The goal of the Entrepreneurial Fellowship is to help a woman journalist move forward with an innovative journalism project. Applicants should have a well-conceived project, the background that shows they can do it, and at least three years of professional experience. Preference will be given to current JAWS members.

We need 10 volunteers to help us review Next Step Fellowship applications.

The Next Step Fellowship

Applicants should be at a career point where they want to shift gears and find new opportunities. They should have a substantive record of at least 15 cumulative years working as a journalist. Preference will be given to JAWS members.

The Legacy committee will review the Betsy Wade Legacy Fund Fellowship applicants.

The Betsy Wade Legacy Fund Fellowship

The Betsy Wade Legacy Fund Fellowship supports a working newswoman of color with at least three years of experience whose work reflects the value of journalism in safeguarding a democratic society.