Pulitzer Center Fellowships 2024

The full-time, yearlong fellowships will cover the reporter’s salary (or part of it, depending on location) and provide additional support for the media outlet that employs the journalist (if on staff), or that agrees to host the Fellow (if a freelancer).

This year we are actively seeking investigations that include, or are tailor-made for, a cross-border approach. If you have yet to secure commitments from your collaborators, you should explain your collaboration plan. We will also actively work with the selected Fellows to identify potential partners within the network. Please note that applications should be done by individuals, and not by a group or media outlet.

Fellows are expected to devote a full year to their rainforest investigations and to publish their series or main story during the year of the fellowship. They will receive training and data, communication, and research and coordination support from the Pulitzer Center. They will work closely with their co-Fellows around the world, benefiting from one another’s skills and diverse perspectives.

The initiative will also collaborate with the Pulitzer Center’s Engagement team. Fellows will have the support of local education and outreach coordinators, who will identify outreach opportunities to share investigation findings with diverse audiences.

The Rainforest Investigations Network is funded by the Norwegian International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI). The NICFI grant includes an explicit guarantee of full editorial independence for the Pulitzer Center as well as for the Fellows and news organizations taking part.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?

• Experienced investigative journalists with a proven track record covering the Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia regions.
• Reporters based in countries outside the three main tropical rainforest regions—Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia—may also apply but will need to focus their reporting during the fellowship on stories related to these regions.
• Staff or freelance journalists working on a wide range of platforms, including print, radio, video, and multimedia. Freelance reporters will need to have the support of a local or international newsroom that agrees to host them and publish the work they produce during the fellowship.
• Team players with the experience and/or ability to work collaboratively across newsrooms and borders.
• Reporters with a deep understanding of the scientific, environmental, social, legal, political, and commercial forces at play in deforestation and forest degradation around the world—and why this issue matters to our global well-being.
• Reporters willing to participate in outreach activities related to their investigations, such as meetings in communities and visits to schools and universities.