Applications for the 2020 Asia Reporting Fellowship have now closed.
JNI and the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at The University of Hong Kong will undertake its second Asia Reporting Fellowship in 2020, this time to Indonesia.
The fellowship will take early to mid-career journalists on a two-week program of activities that will help deepen their knowledge of the history, politics and culture of Australia’s largest neighbour.
Fellows will meet academics, political and civil society representatives and journalists. The program will include seminars, visits to newsrooms and important political and cultural institutions. It will also take fellows outside the capital to see Indonesia’s diverse culture, people and geography. Reporters will have a chance to do their own reporting, in some cases, with local Indonesian reporters.
Economy airfares, accommodation and sundry expenses will be covered by the Institute.
How to apply
To apply, please submit your CV and a cover letter detailing:
- Your interest and/or experience in Indonesia and Asia
- What you hope to gain from the trip
- Three ideas for stories that you would like to report on the trip
- Links to three stories published in the last year
- Confirmation that your editor will allow you to take part in the trip
All Australian-based journalists, including freelancers, are eligible to apply.
Applications must be submitted by February 24, 2020.
Please send applications and questions to fellows@jninstitute.org
Fellowship experience
In 2019, JNI sent 12 Australian journalists to Hong Kong for a two-week intensive on Hong Kong and China, in partnership with the Hong Kong University’s Journalism and Media Studies Centre.
The fellows came from leading Australian media houses — News Corp, SBS, ABC, The Guardian, Nine, AAP — and ranged in age from mid-20s to mid-40s.
The feedback from the fellows was overwhelmingly positive. Few had ever been on a fact-finding fellowship of this type and valued the access and networking opportunities it provided.
Helen Davidson from the Guardian said: “I didn’t come here with a huge awareness of China and how it operates and how it influences the region.”
“But, coming here, we met really high-level contacts, academics, journalists, dissidents,” she said.
SBS reporter Abbie O’Brien said the trip was also an opportunity for journalists from different newsrooms to connect.
“You don’t usually get to hang out a lot with other Australian journalists,” she said.
“So, it was really nice to meet them and find out how they approach stories, because Australia has a very diverse media landscape.”