Early within the pandemic, some headlines argued that covid-19 was the good equalizer—as a result of anybody, irrespective of their circumstance, may catch it. In actuality, it was clear that the virus was affecting some teams of Individuals in disproportionate, devastating methods.
Black Individuals, Hispanic Individuals, Indigenous communities, and different folks of colour have been affected the most, and are dying at much higher rates. Incarcerated folks have been left unprotected, and people in poverty have been among the hardest hit. Schoolchildren from poorer backgrounds are struggling the largest instructional setbacks, with lifelong repercussions.
We all know most of the causes, together with frontline jobs that expose staff to the virus, financial stresses, unstable housing and unequal well being care that results in worse outcomes. However there’s way more to be taught, and way more to do about it.
To assist discover these points and assist folks’s tales get advised, we’ve joined with the Heising Simons Foundation to create 5 MIT Know-how Evaluate Covid Inequality Fellowships.
Every fellowship offers as much as $7,500 of monetary help to assist journalists report and produce tales about covid inequality—and the way it’s being tackled—in under-covered communities within the US. Candidates will probably be judged by a panel of specialists that features a number of the most incisive journalists and knowledgeable specialists working at present. Fellows will obtain editorial oversight and help from our award-winning group; and the tip outcomes will probably be revealed in MIT Know-how Evaluate.
Making use of for a Fellowship is simple: simply have a look via our description of what we’re searching for, after which start submitting your application.
Who ought to apply
We’re providing two sorts of fellowship.
Freelancer fellowships: Apply for this if you happen to’re an impartial journalist who isn’t already connected to a particular publication. You could come from one of many affected communities you propose to report on, or you might know of an vital story a couple of group you’ve gotten to know properly.
Newsroom fellows: Apply for this if you happen to’re a workers journalist working with a particular outlet, who’s searching for additional help to comply with up on a narrative that’s vital to you and the readers you serve.
If in case you have journalistic expertise, and also you wish to inform tales about the way in which covid is affecting folks—and what’s being carried out about it—we encourage you to apply.
What we’re searching for
Your story—or collection of tales—will concentrate on a particular group of individuals and present how they’ve been affected by covid-19. It’ll present the human impacts and discover what sort of disparities exist in publicity, security, remedy, or outcomes. It might have a look at how communities are utilizing applied sciences, growing programs, or constructing alliances to beat the issues they face.
MIT Know-how Evaluate is a publication about rising applied sciences and the methods by which they’re used, so we’re significantly all for:
- The affect of vaccines and the way they’re distributed
- Contact tracing, publicity notification, and/or the usage of well being knowledge
- How the pandemic is affecting the digital divide
- Office virus protocols and surveillance
- The affect of lengthy covid on communities
Above all, these are human tales, with folks at their heart and a seek for options at their core.
To get there, we’re searching for people who find themselves dedicated to telling tales with care and dedication whereas making use of rigorous requirements and sustaining journalistic integrity. You don’t should have a protracted observe file in healthcare or science reporting, however you do should be decided, ready to problem preconceptions, and be snug asking for assist and taking steering.
What we’re not searching for
These fellowships won’t produce simplistic catastrophe narratives that underscore pre-existing tropes, and we don’t need parachute journalism from reporters who don’t have any historical past with or perception into the communities they’re writing about. That doesn’t imply it’s important to establish as a part of the group you’re proposing to cowl, nevertheless it does imply you do have to point out which you can report sensitively and totally—and with out additional endangering them through the pandemic.
How we’ll help your work
Profitable candidates will obtain as much as $7,500 to report and publish their tales. Work will probably be produced along with MIT Know-how Evaluate and revealed on our web site—or co-published, within the case of Newsroom Fellowships. This cash can be utilized to cowl all or any prices associated to the story, together with your individual time, reporting bills, and journey (the place it’s protected.)
We’ll present editorial help to all fellows, with common check-ins with our editors and recommendation from our group. For newsroom fellows, we’ll coordinate together with your publication’s group that can assist you get probably the most out of the venture.
Our panel of judges
Entries will probably be examined by a panel of a number of the main journalists and voices on the topics we’re .
Alexis Madrigal is a senior author at The Atlantic and co-founder of the Covid Monitoring Mission, which compiles, annotates, and publishes high-quality knowledge in regards to the outbreak.
Mark J. Rochester is the editor in chief of Kind Media Middle, and was beforehand senior information director for investigations on the Detroit Free Press. He has served on the nationwide board of administrators of Investigative Reporters & Editors.
Krystal Tsosie is a Navajo bioethicist and geneticist at Vanderbilt College. She is an advocate for moral genomic analysis that respects the rights of Indigenous folks.
Seema Yasmin is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, poet, medical physician and writer. She is at present director of the Stanford Well being Communication Initiative at Stanford College, and a daily contributor on the covid pandemic for CNN.
Gideon Lichfield is the editor in chief of MIT Know-how Evaluate. He joined the publication in 2017 after being a founding editor at Quartz and reporting from Moscow, Jerusalem, and Mexico Metropolis for The Economist.
Applications for the Fellowships are now open. The ultimate deadline for purposes is Sunday March 21, 2021. Chosen fellows will probably be introduced in early April 2021.
The superb print
These fellowships are US-only; Fellows have to be legally in a position to work in the USA. Tales have to be designed for textual content: though video and audio may be a part of the output, your story might want to focus on written journalism, which may embody information reporting, narratives, or knowledge. Initiatives do not need a minimal timescale, however drafts have to be accomplished by the tip of 2021. All tales will probably be topic to modifying, fact-checking, and authorized evaluate.
Listed here are a number of the key issues we’ll require within the first stage of the appliance course of.
- A well-written define of your story or venture of not more than 750 phrases. We’re searching for a compelling pitch that provides an summary of the folks, locations, data, and points that you can be bringing into the highlight.
- A reporting plan that features (a) a proposed timeline and (b) a proof of how you propose to report in a covid-safe method on the communities you might be centered on. Velocity isn’t a think about our choice, nevertheless it’s good to understand how you propose to hold out the duty of researching, reporting, and producing your story.
- A written private assertion (most 500 phrases) telling us about your prior work, related experiences and your connection to the group you’re proposing to cowl.
- Three samples of unique work. If this isn’t freely accessible on-line (for instance, it’s behind a paywall, or solely accessible in print) please present PDF information.
- Newsroom fellowship candidates will probably be required to submit a letterhead assertion confirming that you’ve got the help of your publication.
Shortlisted candidates will probably be requested to offer extra data, together with a breakdown of how they’d spend the fellowship award, reply a questionnaire in regards to the dangers their venture faces, and provide two letters of advice.
If in case you have any questions on this utility course of, you possibly can contact senior editor Bobbie Johnson by email.
