Key highlights
- The MJ Bear Fellowship is having a fellowship for digital journalists under 30 whose work represents the best of digital news
- The fellowship covers registration, hotel and flights for ONA23, Aug. 23-26 in Philadelphia.
- All application materials are due by Thursday, April 27, 2023, 11:59 pm EDT
The MJ Bear Fellowship offers a fellowship for digital journalists under the age of 30 whose work exemplifies the best of digital news. Applications for the 2023 MJ Bear Fellowship will be accepted from April 5 to April 27, 2023.
The one-year fellowship is intended to help early-career journalists with a digital journalism project as well as their own professional development. Projects may have themes such as audience and social engagement, product development, and digital or business strategy.
Benefits of the fellowship
Registration for the Online News Association (ONA) annual conference: The biggest event in digital journalism will be free for fellows, and they will also have networking and sharing opportunities. The fellowship will pay for travel to Philadelphia, lodging, and registration.
3 individualized coaching sessions: ONA collaborates with business leaders to create specialized coaching sessions for the group based on the projects that fellows are working on and the skills they want to develop. Topics like project pitching, career advancement in a changing workplace, audience engagement, marketing, and entrepreneurship were covered in previous sessions and will be covered in this one
ONA membership, with three years’ dues paid in full.
Additional opportunities to showcase work and expertise: The community of ONA will benefit from the fellows’ insights from their projects and professional journeys during their fellowship year. The digital journalism community can benefit from these insights by using them as resources.
Over the course of their fellowships, each of the 2023 fellows will work on a digital journalism-related project.
Each of the 2023 fellows will work on a project related to digital journalism over the course of their fellowship.
Timeline
- April 5, 2023: Applications open
- April 27, 2023: Applications close 11:59 p.m. EDT
- June 2023: 2023 fellows announced
- Aug. 23-26, 2023: ONA Conference
- September–December 2023: Coaching sessions
Eligibility
Working journalists under the age of 30 who are leading a digital journalism project are eligible for the fellowship. Applicants for the class of 2023 must have been born between June 26, 1993, and June 25, 2000. They can work for a company or organization, or they can be self-employed. The fellowship encourages applications from freelancers and journalists of all backgrounds. This fellowship is not available to full-time students.
Who should apply?
The alumni of the MJ Bear fellowship are a diverse group of journalists from all over the world as it understands that great ideas can come from anywhere. The fellowship is open to any journalist working on a project demonstrating innovation, creativity, and leadership. All application materials and materials submitted must be in English.
Application documents
- Your resumé / CV
- A photo of yourself
- A link to the project that you’d like us to consider that is ongoing or started after Jan. 1, 2022
- The contact email from an employer, instructor or technology partner who is not a personal friend or family member and is familiar with your project. This person will be asked to complete a short reference form on your behalf.
- Please have your entire application materials ready before beginning. You will not be able to save your application and return at a later time.
- Any links you provide must be public — with no password required. All required fields must be completed for the application to be accepted. Fellows will be announced in June.
- All application materials are due by Thursday, April 27, 2023, 11:59 pm EDT (3:59 am UTC).
Apply here
About MJ Bear Fellowship
Pioneer of digital journalism Mary Jane “MJ” Bear wanted to make sure that up-and-coming young journalists were supported and heard. She served on the Education, Fundraising, Conference, and Legal Affairs Committees of the Online News Association (ONA) until 2003. She was a founding member of the ONA board and played significant roles in its history. She started the process of establishing a fund to support promising young journalists.
More than 40 MJ Bear Fellows who are creating innovative work in digital media have been identified and supported by the fellowship since 2011.
The fellowship is in honor of her legacy.
