Sir Harry Evans Global Fellowship

The Sir Harry Evans Global Fellowship provides an unrivaled opportunity for an exceptional early career journalist: a nine-month fellowship with Durham University including undertaking an investigative project from inside a newsroom which could be in London, New York, or Toronto. The Fellow will be mentored by editors at Reuters or other media partners while being overseen by Durham University and having access to University academics and research resources. This Fellowship is designed to give the Fellow the chance to develop rigorous, fact-based research and reporting skills. 

The Fellowship provides the opportunity to develop ideas and collaborations in a thriving community of journalists while having the support of world-leading researchers. The aim is for the 2024 Fellowship to begin as soon as possible after 1 March 2024, subject to the necessary immigration requirements being met.

The successful applicant will be employed by Durham University as a Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS). With the support of colleagues in the IAS, the Fellow will be expected to identify and build a network of researchers at the University to support their investigative journalism practice. The Fellow will deliver a public seminar at the IAS, sharing their learnings from the Fellowship and supporting the understanding of journalism at the University.

The Fellowship has a monthly salary of c.£4,444 per month (equivalent to a pro-rata salary of c.£53,333 per year). In addition, there is a £1,250 per month living stipend and a one-off payment of £1,800 for travel and related expenses.

Where the successful applicant is an existing employee of a news or media organisation and takes a period of leave to pursue the Fellowship, Durham University will pay up to a maximum of £12,000 to their current employer to cover temporary staff costs, subject to specific terms and conditions.

Fellowship selection criteria

Qualified applicants will be early-career journalists, which we would normally anticipate to be between two- and five years professional journalism experience. Where a prospective applicant is not currently a journalist but has worked in an investigative reporting capacity in a related professional field (for example: leading human rights or other socio-political publications and campaigns; working as an author or researcher on authoritative investigative work; or developing in-field photo-or video-research projects, documentaries, or exhibitions) applications may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Sir Harry Evans Fellowship is a global opportunity, and we welcome applications from all eligible candidates, regardless of their current location. We encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in journalism.

The Fellowship may be undertaken in the UK, New York, or Toronto, which will be at the discretion of the Fellowship Committee. The successful candidate will need to meet applicable immigration requirements.

How to apply

Applications for the 2024 Fellowship close midday BST Monday 10 July 2023 and applications will be considered by a Fellowship Committee.

To apply, please email the following to SHEF@durham.ac.uk. Please name your documents with your surname then your first name and the word below shown in bold e.g. EvansHarryStatement.

• A short statement (up to 500 words) telling the Fellowship Committee about yourself; what you hope to achieve with this opportunity; and how your vision of journalism fits with the spirit of the Fellowship.
• A detailed proposal (up to 800 words) for an investigative project you would like to execute during the Fellowship.
• A one or two-page CV/résumé including a link to your LinkedIn profile.
• Up to four published examples of work, two of which should be text-based.
• A letter of recommendation from an editor who has worked closely with you, assessing your abilities and potential as an investigative journalist.

The project proposal is a critically important criterion for selection. The main purpose is to evaluate the candidate’s news judgment, originality, and conceptual abilities. We welcome international candidates and they may submit a project related to their own country or another country.

Multimedia journalism is encouraged, and the proposal can include a small amount of relevant visual material, such as graphics, photos, or a video clip. The proposal should tell the Fellowship Committee clearly what the story is about; what’s original about it, including what the new findings would be; why the story is important; what impact it might have; how you would report it; and how you would tell it.

The Fellowship Committee will evaluate the feasibility of proposed projects in terms of the programme’s location: the successful candidate, at the discretion of the Fellowship Committee and subject to meeting immigration requirements, will be based in either London, New York, or Toronto. The Committee will assess whether to assign the winner to undertake their own proposal or another investigative journalism project selected by Reuters.

Your application should be submitted in English, as you will be working in an English-language office. If your letter of recommendation is in another language, please provide a translation into English.

Please complete and submit your application no later than midday BST Monday 10 July 2023. 

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an online interview with the Fellowship Committee.

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