The McGraw Fellowship provides editorial and financial support to journalists who need the time and resources to produce a significant investigative or enterprise story that provides fresh insight into an important business, financial or economic topic. The Fellowship accepts applications for in-depth text, video or audio pieces, and encourage proposals that take advantage of more than one storytelling form to create a multimedia package. This is not a residency Fellowship, however. All Fellows work from their own offices.

The Fellowship provides grants of up to $15,000 for each project. The exact amount will depend on the time it takes to complete the project and the expenses needed; freelance journalists may also use some of the funding as a stipend for living expenses during the Fellowship. The Fellowship seeks for applicants with a proven ability to report and execute a complex project in their proposed medium; ideally, candidates will also have a strong background or reporting expertise on the subject of their piece.

The McGraw Center provides editorial supervision during the Fellowship. It works with the Fellows to develop their projects during the reporting phase and frequently edits the completed stories. It also assists with placing the articles in established print, radio or digital outlets. The stories run on the McGraw Center website as well. You’ll find them on the Fellowship Stories page.

Eligibility

The McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism is open to anyone with at least five years professional experience in journalism. Freelance journalists, as well as reporters and editors currently working at a news organization or a journalism non-profit, may apply.

How to Apply

Applicants should submit a well-focused story proposal of no more than three pages through the accompanying online form. Think of it as pitch, much like you would submit to an editor at a newspaper, magazine, digital outlet, or radio station: give enough preliminary reporting and documentation to demonstrate that the story is solid. The proposal should highlight what’s new and significant about the story, why it matters and what its potential impact might be. The proposal should also note where significant stories on the subject have run elsewhere and how the proposed piece would differ. Applicants should also briefly outline a proposed reporting plan and a timeline for completing the story, and indicate if a media outlet is lined up to run the story.

In addition, applicants should enclose three journalism samples. The samples should be professionally published work that showcases your ability to tackle an in-depth story in the proposed medium. Please also provide with a resume and references from two editors or others familiar with your work; if that is a problem, please contact the center to discuss alternatives.

No budget is required at the time of application, but applicants chosen as finalists will be asked to provide an estimated budget at that time.

The Center generally accepts applications twice a year. The upcoming deadline for Summer 2019 Fellowships is June 28, 2019. Applications for the Winter 2020 Fellowships will be due January 3, 2020. However, it will consider time-sensitive projects on a case-by-case basis outside of the deadline periods. If you have a project that might qualify, please contact the Center at mcgrawcenter@journalism.cuny.edu