The Fund for Investigative Journalism is now accepting applications for Alicia Patterson
Fellowships, which pay $40,000 for 12 months of in-depth reporting or $20,000 for six
months. The deadline to apply is Oct. 1, for fellowships to start in January 2027.
The Fund is hosting two webinars on how to apply for the fellowships and how to craft a
strong proposal:
Aug. 12, noon ET: Click here to register. Three current and former Alicia
Patterson Fellows – Alexandra Talty, Melba Newsome and Erika Hayasaki – will
share their tips and experience. Ellen Weiss, president of the Fund’s board, will
review a recent proposal and share what made it successful.Sept. 3, noon ET: Click here to register. Judges who will review fellowship
applications this year will share what they look for in proposals.
The Alicia Patterson Fellowships are for established freelance journalists (or journalists
employed part-time by a news outlet) who have already published a body of work. The
fellowships support investigative reporting on all topics with a strong U.S. focus.
Proposals lay out the investigative focus, the accountability aspect, four written stories
the applicant would publish on the topic during the fellowship year (or two stories, for
six-month fellowships), initial reporting the applicant has done on the topic, and the
reporting plan for the fellowship period. The fellowship is paid as a monthly stipend, and
it can be used for both reporting expenses and living expenses.
For more on eligibility criteria and application components, click here.
The fellowships were started in 1965 in honor of Alicia Patterson, the founding editor of
Newsday and the first woman to run a major U.S. newspaper. Late last year, the Alicia
Patterson Foundation closed and merged into the Fund for Investigative Journalism,
which now manages the fellowship program.
For more information, or if you have questions, please email [email protected].
