USC Annenberg School offers stipend for overseas religion reporting

The USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism is now accepting applications for the Knight Luce Fellowship for Reporting on Global Religion.

The stipend is $5,000 – $25,000 to allow American journalists to report and write stories illuminating how religion crosses geographic, temporal and ideological borders.

From the USC Annenberg site:

Applicants should consider what these dynamics reveal about personal identity, political power, the search for meaning, the nature of conflict and the construction of community. Their stories can explore how religion, religious institutions and religious people (1) effect change in on-the-ground social, political, and economic conditions; (2) circulate ideas and ideologies among home and diaspora communities; and (3) promote or inhibit religious and political coexistence and cooperation. Stories must be reported outside the U.S., although they may include an American context for contrast or comparison.

Successful applicants are required to do at least three stories for multiple delivery platforms: print, radio, TV, online. All work is to be completed within six months of getting the award and must be finished by December 31, 2011.

Several fellows will be invited to spend three days in residence at the University of Southern California once all the projects are done. Those invited to USC will conduct master classes for journalism students, present their work in seminars, and deliver public lectures for the USC community.

The Anneberg office stresses that this is a program for working journalists, not journalism students or journalism educators.

Fortunately for many of us, freelancers or self-employed journalists individuals who regularly publish, post and/or broadcast online, in print or over the airwaves are eligible. Applications must include either a letter of recommendation from an editor/manager of an organization that regularly posts, publishes or broadcasts the applicants work or by an experienced journalist who can speak to the applicants work in convincing detail.

No advanced degree or specialized training in religion is required.

Click HERE to contact the USC Annenberg office for more information.