Applications are now available for fellowships to the 2017 New England First Amendment Institute. This seventh annual institute will be held from Oct. 29-31 at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.
Application materials can be obtained here.
The New England First Amendment Coalition provides the three-day investigative journalism workshop each year to 25 journalists working within the region. The institute is provided to these journalism fellows at no cost and features many of the country’s elite investigative reporters, editors and media attorneys.
“We have trained more than 150 New England journalists since the institute was founded seven years ago,” said Justin Silverman, executive director of NEFAC. “We’re excited to select another class of fellows to learn from some of the best reporters, editors and attorneys in the country.”
Speakers and faculty for this year’s institute will be announced later this summer. Previous speakers include The Marshall Project’s Bill Keller, formerly of The New York Times; Pulitzer Prize winners Carol Leonnig of The Washington Post and David Barstow 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 will 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 many other skills.
This year’s institute is made possible by the generosity of the Providence Journal Charitable Legacy Fund, the program’s primary supporter; as well as Northeastern University and the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Foundation.
Other supporters of NEFAC for this year include the Barr Foundation, The Robertson Foundation, Lois Howe McClure, The Boston Globe, Boston University, The Hartford Courant and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
More information about NEFAI 2017 can be read here. Information on previous institutes can be found here.
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.
Major Supporters of NEFAC for this year include the Barr Foundation, The Providence Journal Charitable Legacy Fund, The Robertson Foundation, Lois Howe McClure, The Boston Globe and Boston University. Celebration Supporters include The Hartford Courant and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.