The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute announces the launch of the I.F. Stone Award for emerging journalists. The award will support the investigative projects of one to two prize winners twice a year (with deadlines in November and April). Group projects will be considered, but award money will be split among members of the group. Applicants must be graduate students, recent graduates, journalism interns, or emerging journalists at least 21 years of age.
Proposals for the first round must be received by November 25, 2011. (The next deadline will be April 30, 2012.) Winners of the inaugural prize will be selected by the editors of The Investigative Fund and announced by December 15, 2011. The emerging journalists with winning proposals will receive between $2,000 and $10,000, depending upon the applicants’ budget request and the story’s reporting requirements. In addition, the winners will receive editorial guidance from Investigative Fund editors; access as needed to Nexis, Accurint, and libel review; and, placement assistance in a print, broadcast, or online outlet.
The Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute is dedicated to improving the scope and quality of investigative reporting by incubating important investigative stories with the potential for social impact. By providing reporters with editorial guidance, institutional support, and grants to cover the research costs associated with investigative journalism, The Investigative Fund has produced stories that have sparked federal indictments, lawsuits, Congressional investigations, legislation, and the resignation of public officials. Our investigations have appeared in a wide array of outlets, including NPR and PBS as well as The Nation, Harper’s, The New York Review of Books, Mother Jones, Newsweek, Time, Glamour and GQ. Our stories have also won some of journalism’s top awards, including the Polk, the National Magazine Award, and the Hillman Prize.
The I.F. Stone Award honors Stone’s legacy of tireless investigations into issues of vital national interest. As Washington editor of The Nation and founder of the legendary I.F. Stone’s Weekly, Stone combined his investigative zeal with a passionate commitment to exposing injustice. In 1943, after publishing an exposé revealing the questions used by the FBI to identify “subversives” among government workers ("Does he mix with Negroes? Does he... have too many Jewish friends?”), Stone became a target of FBI surveillance. His weekly publication became known for offering up content that other media outlets ignored—such as obscure but revealing testimony at Congressional hearings—and for unsanitized coverage of the Vietnam War.
HOW TO APPLY:
To be considered for the I.F. Stone Award, please submit the following by email to
ifstone@investigativefund.org by 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday, November 25, 2011.
Contact information (Name, address, telephone, email) Social Security number (For payment purposes, you must provide an SSN) Subject of research (A short phrase) Story proposal (A narrative description of your proposed topic, including a detailed reporting plan, of no more than two pages) Total budget requested (Please detail) Potential impact Estimated completion date References (Please list names and contact information of two people familiar with your work) Resumé Two writing samples (Reporting is best)
Strong story proposals will:
• be well-developed, with initial reporting legwork forming a solid foundation for further reporting
• break new ground
• have the potential for significant social impact
• cover an area that is traditionally underreported.
Before applying, we encourage you to check out investigations we have produced in the past: http://www.theinvestigativefund.org/
And please visit our FAQs page for further information:
http://www.theinvestigativefund.org/about/1003/frequently_asked_questions