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"Our newspaper has been a better place as a result of having [AFPF Fellows] in our midst; my feeling, too, is that each of them went home with a positive impression and some new ideas." Howard Tyner, retired, former vice president for Editorial, Tribune Publishing Company |
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Program Overview for Potential Participants
Applications:
"We learned a lot more than we taught - about their nations,
their cultures, their journals, their aspirations."
"My stint with the Chicago Tribune became my passport to meaningful developments in my career. I have learned to accept more challenges as a journalist, saying yes to as many opportunities that come my way to learn more about issues and fields that overwhelmed me in the past."
"Working with our Friendly Fellow energized, unified and inspired [our staff] people in ways I didn't expect to happen."
"I consider [the fellowship] to be a very long-term and
important investment....it gave me 1. a lot of new ideas, 2. better
understanding of good journalism, and 3. what hard work means, 4. it
also gave me a lot of self-confidence."
"...[T]he program... forces all of us who come into contact with these fellows to think about and explain why we do what we do. It also gives us a chance to spread the best values of journalism in ways we never could otherwise." "I gained an indelible belief in the right of journalists to practice their craft freely. And an equally indelible sense of how responsible we have to be. Before AFPF, these were mainly intellectual assumptions." |
WHAT IT MEANS TO
BE A HOST
Hosting a Fellow means using the Fellow to the best of his or her
ability. The more capable the Fellow, the more he or she will want and
need to do. Although excellent English skills are required to be
selected for our program, English is often a second language. In
addition, Fellows are often accustomed to a very different style of
journalistic writing. Their first stories will require significant
editing. Outside of the office, they will need guidance in navigating a
culture that is not only physically very different from their own but
oftentimes socially outside their usual comfort zone. Fellows are mature, flexible, bright and independent people, but they are far from home and family and thus welcome a spot of personal attention that might not be paid to a new American hire working his or her way up the journalistic ranks.
We ask that a "Fellowship Plan" be established with
specifically stated goals for the Fellow and the host to meet. Fellow
and host should spell out this plan in the first two weeks of the Fellow's stay in the host newsroom so that progress can be monitored throughout the five months. While Fellows
typically cover local news and features, they often rotate among sections of the paper — city, arts, business, editorial features, online, etc., as the needs and desires of host and Fellow determine.
The primary benefit of the AFPF program to the host news organizations is the cross-cultural experience derived from the Fellow’s presence. Newspaper staff often develop a greater appreciation for the benefits of our free press when they are able to compare them with the constraints imposed on the press in other countries. The AFPF experience is based on a five-month training
assignment at a U.S. newspaper. Fellows learn about your publication and the American press system by participating in daily newsroom activities and by contributing stories for publication. It is hoped that Fellows will find practices, standards and values of journalism in the United States that they can adapt and apply in their home countries. While in the United States the Fellows, in turn, are able to share their perspectives and insights on journalism, your community and the United States with editors, reporters and readers. Nothing can replace the personal and professional ties that grow between AFPF Fellows and hosts. Overcoming professional, cultural and political differences is as rewarding as it is challenging; and the results can be profound.
The major responsibility of the host is to put the Fellow to work. Typically Fellows write (or contribute to) one to three stories per week. But an AFPF Fellowship is both a personal and professional experience, and the Fellows need assistance with both. Therefore when a paper agrees to host a Fellow for a five-month training assignment we ask the paper to choose a representative to act as the Fellow's mentor and primary contact. If possible, a team of interested reporters/editors should be created, since experience has shown that sharing the responsibility for the Fellow’s well-being and progress among several co-mentors works best. Prior to the Fellow's arrival, housing must be found. We ask that the newspaper (with guidance from the AFPF staff) locate appropriate housing. In addition,
we ask that the paper make contact with the Fellow so that he or she will feel welcome in advance and can begin to learn about the paper and the city that will be his or her temporary home. The mentor team is responsible for introducing the Fellow to the city and paper and for helping the new colleague create a fellowship plan.
The mentor will visit Washington, DC at the end of the Fellows' orientation seminar for a two-day Mentor’s Orientation with other host newsroom representatives before traveling with the Fellow to the host city and will return to Washington at the end of the fellowship for two days during the Final Seminar.
Read our Mentor Manual.
Fellows arrive in Washington for an orientation seminar to prepare them — both personally and professionally — for the challenges of living and working in the United States. A major component of the seminar is a five-day refresher course in American journalism. The hands-on sessions are conducted at the University of Maryland’s School of Journalism. After writing, reporting, and learning about style, ethics, libel and the culture of American newsrooms, Fellows leave the classroom better prepared for their fellowship assignments. Addressing the Fellows’ personal adaptation to the United States is Dr. Gary Weaver, professor at The American University’s School of International Service. Dr. Weaver, a cross-cultural adaptation specialist who has worked with Alfred Friendly Fellows since 1984, discusses what Fellows typically experience during their time in the United States and suggests strategies to handle the various phases of culture shock most Fellows experience. The remainder of the two weeks is spent on professional, tourist and social activities in and around Washington. For the last weekend of the orientation seminar, AFPF invites host newspaper representatives to come to Washington so that, as mentors, they can meet the Fellows, discuss plans that the host newsrooms have for them and provide information on logistical concerns such as health insurance, banking, housing, etc. The Fellow and host mentor travel together at the end of the weekend to begin the Fellow’s five-month assignment. At the middle of the program Fellows, AFPF staff and Dr. Weaver come together at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida to discuss the personal and professional experiences of the individual Fellows at that point. The highlight of the Midterm Seminar is the four-day seminar at Poynter. This seminar, created specifically for Friendly Fellows, focuses on writing, editing and coaching. A final seminar in Washington reunites the Fellows so that they may compare and evaluate their experiences and discuss their impressions of the American media. The mentors are invited back to Washington at the end of the final seminar to meet with AFPF staff to discuss the program and bid farewell to the Fellows who return to their home countries following the final seminar.
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An Alfred Friendly Fellow is a mid-career professional from a developing
country with at least three years experience. He or she is in the United
States not only to learn about the American press system but also
to teach about his or her country and journalism there. Hoping that
Fellows return home with new and practical ideas about journalism, we
also hope that the Fellows will gain fresh insight into the value of their own countries' systems by working in the United States.