Poynter announces 2020-21 Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism fellows

The Poynter Institute has selected 57 emerging journalists for its second year of the Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship program.

This year’s group includes not only reporters, but also visual journalists, designers and opinion writers.

During the year-long fellowship, fellows are placed as paid, full-time journalists at local news outlets, including The Dallas Morning News, Miami Herald/El Nuevo, WBTV Charlotte and St. Louis Public Radio. There, these journalists learn from each other, their colleagues and from a robust curriculum designed by Poynter faculty Samantha Ragland.

Ragland says,

“The fellowship is a true career accelerator with real-world application, rigorous weekly workshops, advisory groups, one-on-one mentoring and communal events. But my mission is to help fellows find their people — a diverse learning community of passionate journalists that supports and challenges each member for the rest of their careers. Connection is how we foster innovation.”

The program already began last month and has now started weekly two-hour workshops focusing on:

• Foundations of journalism
• Beat-fluid storytelling
• Audience engagement strategy
• Leadership development

Additionally, fellows will also choose from dozens of mentors for biweekly, one-on-one coaching that starts this fall.

The full list of fellows can be viewed here.