Deadline: 25-Aug-22
The Religion & Environment Story Project (RESP) is seeking applications for its Fellowship Program to train journalists, editors, and public-facing scholars interested in the intersection of the environment and religion.
The goal is to bridge the divide between the religion and science beats, and promote new thinking and new narratives that will inform and educate the public, especially on the climate crisis.
RESP is based at Boston University and funded by a grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.
The Religion & Environment Story Project Fellowship supports journalists, editors, and public-facing academics who are producing – or want to learn how to produce – stories at the intersection of religion and the environment.
A cohort of ten fellows will gather twice over the course of six months for practical, on-the-job training designed to develop new ways of thinking about the climate crisis and the role played by religious individuals and institutions in addressing (and ignoring) it.
Participants will meet with working journalists and scholars in a collaborative seminar environment that will include wide ranging discussions on religion, spirituality, the environment, climate change, and journalism. They hope this format will inspire and inform the participants while offering peer learning and support from other journalists. It should also provide expert sources and story leads that will help fellows identify and create stories that other journalists are missing.
Benefits
RESP will cover travel, food, and lodging for their two workshops. They will also pay for a year’s membership for the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) or the Religion News Association (RNA), plus registration fees for either the SEJ or RNA annual conferences. Fellows will also receive a stipend of $1,000 after completing the program and committing to produce at least one story for a general audience.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates should be U.S.-based journalists or editors (freelance or staff, in all media) who are interested in working on stories where religious and spiritual commitments overlap with environmental action (or inaction). Also invited to apply are U.S.-based college and university faculty members who actively write for general audiences. RESP is committed to supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion in journalism. They encourage applications from people of all backgrounds, races, genders, sexual orientations, and religions, as well as the non-religious. The RESP Fellowship is open to both emerging and established journalists.
For more information, visit https://sites.bu.edu/resp/resp-fellowship/