2022 McGraw Fellowship (Up to $15,000 Grant): (Deadline 23 March 2022)

Application call for 2022 McGraw Fellowship (Up to $15,000 Grant). The deadline to apply for Fall 2021 Fellowships is September 30, 2021. Applications for the Spring 2022 Fellowships will be due March 31, 2022.

Are you a journalist with a great idea for a story that “Follows the Money,” but no funds to get it done? The McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism would like to hear from you.

The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Center for Business Journalism, an initiative of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York, began offering reporting fellowships in the summer of 2014. We provide grants up to $15,000 and editorial support to experienced journalists that enables them to do the deep reporting necessary to produce high-impact investigative and enterprise stories that tackle critical issues related to the global economy, finance and business.

Fellowship stories must have an economic or financial angle, but you don’t need to be a business reporter to apply. Many of our previous Fellows have been generalists, or cover beats such as health care, education or the environment. Others focus on issues such as economic inequality or corporate accountability. Here are a few examples of their work:

• Pandemic, Prosecutions Aside, Bribery Persists in Chinese Hospitals 100Reporters
• Palm oil labor abuses linked to world’s top brands, banks Associated Press
• Hurricane fallout creates financial ruin for Puerto Rico’s seniors with reverse mortgages USA Today and the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo
• Several years into BP settlement spending, the bulk of Mississippi’s restoration work remains undone Mississippi Today
• Two Nations, One Aquifer: A series about water at the border Albuquerque Journal
• Company insiders are selling stock during buybacks and making additional profits when stock prices jump.
• And it’s legal. Washington Post
• How the Norcross Political Machine Muscled in on Prime Real Estate in New Jersey’s Poorest City WNYC & Pro Publica
• When baby is due, genetic counselors seen downplaying false alarms Boston Globe and New England Center for Investigative Reporting
• New Workers of the World: Capturing the voices of workers facing unprecedented change Bloomberg Businessweek

Benefits of 2022 McGraw Fellowship (Up to $15,000 Grant)

The Fellowship provides a grant of up to $15,000 for each project. The exact amount will depend on the time it takes to complete the project and the expenses needed; freelance journalists may use some of the funding as a stipend for living expenses during the Fellowship. We look for applicants with a proven ability to report and execute a complex project in their proposed medium; ideally, candidates will also have a strong background or reporting expertise on the subject of their project.

Eligibility

The McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism is open to anyone with at least five years professional experience in journalism. Freelance journalists, as well as reporters and editors currently working at a news organization or a journalism non-profit, may apply.

How to Apply for 2022 McGraw Fellowship (Up to $15,000 Grant)

Applicants should submit a well-focused story proposal of no more than three pages through the accompanying online form. Think of it as pitch, much like you would submit to an editor at a newspaper, magazine, digital outlet, or radio station: give us enough preliminary reporting and documentation to demonstrate that the story is solid. The proposal should highlight what’s new and significant about the story, why it matters and what its potential impact might be. The proposal should also note where significant stories on the subject have run elsewhere and how the proposed piece would differ. Applicants should also briefly outline a proposed reporting plan and a timeline for completing the story, and let us know if a media outlet is lined up to run the story.

In addition, applicants should enclose three journalism samples. The samples should be professionally published work that showcases your ability to tackle an in-depth story in the proposed medium. Please also provide us with a resume and references from two editors or others familiar with your work. If getting references is a problem, please contact us to discuss alternatives.