NEFAC’s Investigative Reporting Fellowships to Be Offered to 25 Journalists; Deadline August 18
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org
The New England First Amendment Coalition will host its 13th annual New England First Amendment Institute from Oct. 29 to Oct. 31 at Northeastern University in Boston.
“We have trained hundreds of local journalists since the Institute began more than a decade ago and we’re looking forward to welcoming this year’s class of fellows,” said Justin Silverman, executive director of NEFAC. “Our fellows will be treated to an exciting curriculum taught by many of the country’s leading journalism instructors and professionals.”
The deadline to apply is August 18, 2023.
Application materials can be obtained here.
NEFAC provides the tuition-free investigative journalism institute each year for 25 working journalists within New England. It includes workshops and presentations featuring some of the country’s most elite investigative reporters, editors and media attorneys. More than 300 journalists from 100 local news organizations have benefited from the New England First Amendment Institute since it began in 2011.
Speakers and faculty for this year’s institute will be announced in the coming months. Previous speakers and faculty — among them multiple Pulitzer Prize and Emmy award winners — include:
Sewell Chan of the Texas Tribune; Mark Walker of The New York Times; NPR’s Sacha Pfeiffer; Tracy Jan of The Washington Post; Astead Herndon of The New York Times; Stephanie McCrummen, Margaret Sullivan and Scott Higham of The Washington Post; Terence Smith, contributing columnist for the Capital Gazette (Annapolis, Md.); David Cuillier of the University of Arizona School of Journalism; David Barboza of The New York Times; Kathleen Carroll, formerly of the Associated Press; Wesley Lowery, formerly of The Washington Post; The Marshall Project’s Bill Keller, formerly of The New York Times; Pulitzer Prize winners Carol Leonnig of The Washington Post and David Barstow, formerly of The New York Times; ESPN’s Don Van Natta, Jr.; the 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning Spotlight Team from The Boston Globe; as well as Anna Schecter, a Peabody Award winning producer for NBC; Cindy Galli of ABC News; and Bill Buzenberg, former executive director of the Center for Public Integrity.
NEFAI fellows learn the latest investigative and database reporting techniques, state-specific public records and open meeting laws, and how to best obtain documents through the federal Freedom of Information Act, among other skills.
This year’s institute is made possible by the generosity of Northeastern University, the Academy of New England Journalists, the Rhode Island Foundation and Boston University.
NEFAC was formed in 2006 to advance and protect the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment, including the principle of the public’s right to know. We’re a broad-based organization of people who believe in the power of an informed democratic society. Our members include lawyers, journalists, historians, academics and private citizens.
Our coalition is funded through contributions made by those who value the First Amendment and who strive to keep government accountable. Please make a donation here.
Leadership Circle donors include the Rhode Island Foundation, The Boston Globe, Paul and Ann Sagan, and the Robertson Foundation. Major Supporters include Hearst Connecticut Media Group, Boston University, the Academy of New England Journalists, the Society of Professional Journalists Foundation, Genie Gannett for the First Amendment Museum, Linda Pizzuti Henry, the Champa Charitable Foundation Fund and Connecticut Public.