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General Program Information

Mentor/Host Newspaper Responsibilities

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MENTOR MANUAL

This manual is meant as a reference tool to assist Mentors with questions that may arise about the Alfred Friendly Press Fellows (AFPF). Issues addressed include: what the program entails, how long it is, logistical and financial benefits to the Fellow, AFPF’s contact information, driving, banking, housing, health insurance, and legal status of the Fellow in the United States.

We hope you will refer to this manual when you are, or anyone in your newsroom is uncertain or curious about AFPF or your Fellow and, most importantly, that you will not hesitate to contact the AFPF office for advice and assistance.

GENERAL PROGRAM INFORMATION

The Program

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. The ultimate purpose of the AFPF program is to enhance the quality and openness of journalism and the press around the world. If this is to happen, Fellows must return home and share their new–found knowledge and skills with their colleagues.

Employment

The U.S. government has created rules to regulate training programs like AFPF. The use of this program for ordinary employment is strictly prohibited by law. Fellows are not employees of their host newspapers nor can they be hired at the conclusion of the program.

Fellows cannot accept money from any party other than AFPF for any reason, except for reimbursement of expenses related to work. For example, Fellows cannot accept money to write a book review, give a guest lecture at an organization, or anything else. Fellows can accept reimbursement from the host newspaper for work expenses such as taxi cabs for stories. If you are unsure, please ask AFPF staff for guidance.

Fellow Responsibilities

The fellowship is a full–time training experience, and Fellows are expected to conduct themselves in a professional and responsible manner. While Fellows are allowed to write stories for their home publications and to participate in activities outside of the newsroom, these activities must not interfere with their newsroom training program.

Newspaper Guild

AFPF has secured the full support and cooperation of the Newspaper Guild.

Mentors

Each Fellow has a Mentor, or primary contact person in the newsroom — someone who will keep an eye on the Fellow, answer questions and check on progress throughout the five–month fellowship. Fellows need both professional and personal support. Mentors attend a three–day Orientation program and then escort the Fellows to their newspaper. Mentors are expected to be knowledgeable about, and helpful with many administrative and intercultural aspects of the fellowship.

Mentor/host newspaper responsibilities

 1. Launching the fellowship

 Host newspaper preparations for the fellowship begin in February — approximately two months prior to the Fellow's arrival in the newsroom. AFPF guides the newspapers through the process but relies heavily on its host newspapers' assistance to make the necessary arrangements. Following is a list of things to do for your Fellow.

Pre–Arrival

February:

  • Contact the Fellow by e–mail, phone or regular mail. Send newspaper and city information — a stylebook, a city map, newspaper luggage tags, a hat,t–shirts, etc. Welcoming your Fellow in such a way will make him/her excited and less apprehensive.

  • Find housing for your Fellow. Set up utilities and phone service.

  • If your Fellow will need to drive, obtain a local driving manual and determine licensing regulations for the Fellow (there are often different regulations for an international driver). Research car rental and insurance options.

Mid–March:

  • Create a schedule for the first week (get driving license, new employee training, computer training, welcome lunch, etc).

  • Notify newsroom staff that a visiting professional journalist will be arriving (send a broadcast e–mail to the staff announcing the Fellow's arrival). AFPF provides colorful posters to be hung throughout the newsroom.

  • Create an Orientation/Welcome Packet to be given on day one

  • Establish an e–mail account for the Fellow

  • Secure a workspace for the Fellow — a place where he or she can be seen by numerous passersby is good because with luck, journalists will be curious about the stranger in their midst and stop to chat. Be sure the desk's current neighbors are sympathetic and will be helpful with basic questions about how the telephone works or where the bathroom is located.

Arrival

Day/Week One:

  • Give the Fellow an Orientation/Welcome Packet, which could include a welcome letter, a written schedule of the first week’s activities, information about the host publication — including a local map, list of facilities in the building, a list of phone numbers of helpful people at the paper, nearby restaurants, transportation and bus schedules, and local contacts for international visitors. This will help the Fellows feel welcome as they adjust to a new work environment.

  • The Mentor should make clear all office policies that apply to reporters at your paper. For example, let the Fellow know when he or she is expected in the office (typically 10 am-6 pm), to whom he or she reports, what the procedure is for reimbursement of expenses, and whether personal local, long distance, or international phone calls are allowed from the office. We suggest the Fellows use telephone cards for personal long distance and international calls. Please provide your Fellow with an employee handbook and style book.

  • Arrange for new employee training which should include instructions on the computer and telephone system.

  • Introduce your Fellow at a News Budget Meeting in the first week. Introduce the Fellow to a range of department managers, including features, sports, business, photo/graphics, copy desk, opinion writers and Web operation. Help the Fellow meet and tour the non–news offices so that he or she can understand the production, distribution and sales organization.

  • Introduce the Fellow to the telephone operators. Be sure to notify the operators that a new person will be in the newsroom and at which extension he/she can be reached.

  • By April 15, please submit to AFPF the Fellow’s training plan. This should be created in conjunction with your Fellow and should include a chronology of activities to be undertaken by the Fellow, the objectives of those activities, and the skills/knowledge to be imparted. The plan will allow both paper and Fellow to measure the progress and success of the fellowship.

  • Get the Fellow writing! To the Fellows, generally the most important thing in the beginning of the program is getting their first by-line. If this can be done in the first week, great. If it can be arranged by day two that’s even better. One easy way of doing this is to assign your Fellow to work with another reporter. The dual by–line may be a gift, but it makes the Fellow feel useful.

  • Have a coffee/cookie newsroom reception on the second or third day. Invite everyone. It usually results in half a dozen staff members establishing a relationship that continues throughout the five–month fellowship.

2. Keeping the Fellow busy

Once the Fellow has acclimated to the new professional environment, chances are he or she will want to explore social aspects of the city. Every Fellow is different but the following are some suggestions from our hosts on successful efforts in keeping the Fellow engaged, active and happy.

  • Contact local schools — Send a notice (through higher education reporter) to local universities’ journalism departments or international relations or regional studies departments, that a visiting journalist from X country is in town for 5 months and would be willing to share his/her experiences (providing this is okay with the Fellow). Secondary and elementary schools have also been a big success.

  • The in–house publication can do a story on the Fellow, to be run with a photograph.

  • Ask the Fellow about hobbies. Help him/her find appropriate clubs or organizations which would allow the Fellow to continue these hobbies.

  • There are many organizations in American cities that are interested in international visitors. The World Affairs Councils are located throughout the U.S. and provide services ranging from lecture series to home dinner visits. Visit the following website for a list of World Affairs Councils: www.worldaffairscouncils.org/Councils.htm. Also, there is the National Council for International Visitors, which has chapters all over the country. To see if there’s one near you, check out www.nciv.org.

  • Encourage volunteerism — it’s a great way to feel useful and to keep busy.

  • Have the Fellow write a news story about him/herself or his/her country for publication within the first two weeks in the newsroom. This generates interest, and friendships, in the community.

    • 3. Logistical information for which the mentors are responsible

    AFPF provides many benefits to our Fellows. The Mentor who attends the Orientation in Washington, DC learns about these items and is expected to serve as a resource for both the Fellow and others in the newsroom when questions arise. Mentors help guide Fellows through life in the United States.

    What AFPF provides to our Fellows:

    Travel

    AFPF provides Fellows with round–trip international and domestic airfare and local transportation for all program related activities.

    Stipend

    Fellows receive a $1,000 monthly stipend from AFPF. This has proven to be adequate to support a modest lifestyle for one person for the five–month fellowship period. The grant is expected to cover expenses such as food, local transportation and personal items. In addition, the Fellowship covers housing costs.

    Banking

    During the Orientation Seminar, AFPF establishes checking accounts in Washington, DC for each Fellow. This enables the AFPF staff to directly deposit funds when necessary to each account. Each Fellow receives an ATM card and checks imprinted with a host city address.

    The bank accounts are established with Bank of America, which has the most extensive national coverage of all banks in the United States. Unfortunately, this year there are two cities which are not served by Bank of America—Denver and Pittsburgh.

    In these places the Fellow must pay fees to Bank of America and the other bank whenever an ATM is used. This can cost anywhere from $2 to $6. AFPF will give these five Fellows an additional $10 per month to cover the fees charged by the other bank. Fellows should limit the number of visits to ATMs to avoid additional fees.

    Training Allowance

    Each Fellow will have a $3,000 training allowance to:

  • attend conferences
  • make short-term professional visits
  • buy journalism books and publications (plus postage to send the books home)
  • offer a training workshop upon returning home
  • invite a mentor to their home country to conduct training

    Two-thirds of their allowance ($2,000) should be used on contributing to improving journalism in their home country in the following ways:

  • Conduct their own workshop. Fellows will be encouraged to organize their own workshops once they return home based on what they’ve learned while on the program. We will encourage them to enlist the participation of AFPF alumni in their home countries.
  • Invite a mentor, Advisory Committee member or some other journalism professional with whom the Fellow has come in contact through the fellowship program, to visit the home country and provide training or co-training.
  • Invite someone in the home country, or region, to provide a workshop or seminar to journalistic colleagues. This should be a program that is practical, not abstract, i.e., concrete examples of good interview questions. We envision Knight International Press Fellows, consultants, foreign correspondents and local journalists who are experts in their fields, as those who will provide the training.
  • Buy books and publications to stock a library for the newsroom or a journalist association. Fellows could also buy a computer software program for the newsroom. The allowance can also be used for postage to send the media home.

    The remaining third of the allowance ($1,000) can be spent on any of the following:

  • Media. The allowance can be used for books and publications that the Fellow intends to keep for his/her personal education.
  • Conferences. Fellows will be encouraged to attend workshops, seminars and conferences that are relevant to their journalistic goals and specific interests. For example, a business writer might like to attend the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) conference or a journalist of color might attend the National Association of Black Journalists’ conference.
  • Short-term Professional Visits. Fellows will be allowed to coordinate short visits to other publications and professional organizations. For example, an investigative journalist may wish to spend a day with an investigative team at The New York Times to learn about their research methods.

    Apartment and Utility Deposits

    AFPF will pay all apartment and utility deposits.

    Driving

    Regarding driving, the Fellows’ safety and the safety of others is our number one concern. While a Fellow may drive at home, driving in another country can be a very different experience. There are many driving issues that differ from country to country such as which side of the road to drive on, speed limits, road signs, rules regarding traffic circles and pedestrian crossings, etc. We want Fellows to be comfortable driving in American cities and we want to be confident in their driving abilities. AFPF feels very strongly that if a Fellow must drive, he or she should take one or more driving lessons. Driving lessons have been arranged during orientation for those Fellows who will, or may, have a rental car for the duration of their fellowships.

    AFPF only rents cars for Fellows in cities with little or no public transportation. Cities where we will rent cars for Fellows for the duration of the program include: Denver, Kansas City, and St. Louis. Cities where transportation is sufficient and therefore no rental car is needed are: Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, DC. From time to time, assignments may arise which call for cars. If your publication has pool cars, please find out if your Fellow can use them for assignments. If there are no pool cars or if the Fellow is not allowed to use them, AFPF will consider occasional, daily rentals as needed.

    Health Insurance

    AFPF provides each Fellow with insurance coverage required for J–1 visa holders. The health plan that covers all of this year’s Fellows is called International Medical Group- Patriot America Group Coverage. This insurance provides coverage for medical emergencies, sicknesses, injuries, medical evacuation, and, in case of death, repatriation of remains. This program does not provide coverage for medical conditions that existed prior to their arrival in the United States.

    Health insurance has been explained to the Fellows but is often confusing to them. Please help them through the process as best you can. To assist you with this, AFPF provided copies of the health insurance explanations, identity cars and claim forms to the mentor during the mentor orientation. In addition AFPF retains copies of these items at our office.

    Finding a Doctor:

    Please help your Fellow identify a doctor before one is needed. A doctor that is close to work or home is probably best. They should first call the doctor to ensure he accepts their coverage. They can also find a doctor online www.firsthealth.com/medicalEd/logon.do or call 1-317-655-4500 or 1-800-628-4664 for help.

    Deductible:

    Fellows have a $100 deductible. This means that the fellow must pay $100 towards medical services before the health insurance covers any. After the deductible has been met the insurance company pays 80% of the cost of services, up to $2000. Once you reach $2000, the insurance company will cover any other payments.

    For example: You hurt your leg, and go to the doctor. The doctor determines that you have a broken bone. He gives you a bill for $150, which covers the office visit, X-rays, and materials. You am responsible for the first $100. Then there is $50 left over, of which the insurance company will $40. You will have to pay a total of $110. If you go back to the doctor you will only pay 80% of the entire bill.

    Visiting a Doctor:

    Fellows have an insurance card which they should keep in their wallets at all times. Fellows need to bring their insurance card and some form of payment (check, credit card or ATM card) to the doctor’s office. Upon arrival they should show their insurance card to the receptionist, who may wish to call the insurance company to verify benefits.

    Visiting a hospital:

    Before visiting a hospital, the Fellows must be Precertified for medical necessity. Which means, the Fellow must call the number listed on the IMG card (1-800-628-4664) prior to admittance to a hospital- even in the case of emergency. They must be sure to bring their insurance card.

    A situation that might warrant precertification would be if they went to the doctor with stomach pains, and the doctor determined that they needed surgery within a week to fix the problem. In this case, they would call the insurance company and let them know that their doctor has recommended surgery for (reason) and that it is estimated to cost (amount). Their doctor can provide them with detailed information for them to give to the insurance company.

    How it works:

    After services are performed, most doctors and all hospitals will submit the medical bill to the insurance company directly on behalf of the Fellow, as long as proof of insurance is made at the time of service. Therefore it is very important that they take their insurance card with them when visiting the doctor. However, some doctors will ask the Fellow to sumbit the bill to the insurance company, in which case they must mail the original bill to the International Medical Group(address below). A small percentage of doctors may ask the Fellow to pay in full at the time of service. If this happens, they must mail the original bill AND all receipts to the International Medical Group for reimbursement (the reimbursement process usually take 3-4 weeks).

    The important thing for the Fellow to remember when they see a doctor is to find out who will submit the bill to the insurance company (it will either be the doctor or the Fellow)

    In the event that the insurance company views the Fellow’s doctor’s visit as a “complex claim,” the insurance company may ask the Fellow to submit a Claim Form. Claim Forms have been provided to each Mentor and Fellow and additional forms can be downloaded here: www.imglobal.com/pdf_forms/claimform-interactive.doc (for provider reimbursement) or www.imglobal.com//pdf.cfm?f=25 (for Fellow reimbursement). Fellows have been told to show the Claim Form to their Mentor before submitting it to the insurance company to help ensure that it is completed correctly and that all supporting documents are included. Please note that ORIGINAL BILLS must be sent with the Claim Form. Fellows must photocopy all Claim Forms and supporting documentation and then mail the ORIGINALS to IMG at the address listed below. They must keep copies for their records.

    All Bills and Claim Forms should be sent to:

    International Medical Group
    PO Box 88500
    Indianapolis, IN 46208-0500

    Emergencies:

    For EMERGENCY medical assistance after regular business hours and over the weekend, please call IMG Assistance at 1-800-628-4664.

    Prescriptions:

    Fellows must pay for all prescriptions in full and submit a Claim Form to International Medical Group- Patriot America Group Coverage for reimbursement. The cost of the prescriptions will count towards their $100 deductible. Original receipts including the label on the prescription bag AND the cash register receipt must be included. Only including one of these is not sufficient and will cause the claim to be denied. Fellows must make photocopies of everything before mailing in any forms.

    Exclusions and Conditions Not Covered:

    The following are some of the things for which the insurance does not pay:

    • Pre–existing conditions

    • Dental treatment — dental treatment is included only when it is the direct result of a covered injury

    • Preventive medicines, routine physical examinations, or any other examinations where there are no objective indications of impairment of normal health
    • Cosmetic Surgery, eye care or hearing aids — except when it is the direct result of a covered injury
    • Self–inflicted injury
    • Pregnancy, childbirth or miscarriage
    • Injuries resulting from illegal activity, hazardous sports, the use of alcohol or intoxicants, or any non-prescribed drugs
    Program Administration

    The AFPF staff is more than happy to answer any questions you might have.

    AFPF
    1100 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1310
    Washington, DC 20036
    Phone: 202-429-3740
    Fax: 202-466-4344
    E-mail:     info@pressfellowships.org
    Website: www.pressfellowships.org
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