National Press Club Journalism Institute and the Common Health Coalition Fellowship

The Common Health Coalition and the National Press Club Journalism Institute have launched a new fellowship opportunity for mid-career journalists. The Public Health Reporting Fellowship will award up to $7,500 each to five individuals to support reporting projects focused on the intersection of public health policy and health care delivery. The deadline to apply for the six-month program is January 6, 2025.

The Common Health Coalition, which brings together leading health care organizations in pursuit of a more unified health system, has invested $50,000 to start the fellowship program at the Institute. Applicants will be asked to propose a significant reporting project covering a critical community, regional, state, or national public health issue, to be published or distributed by July 2025.

“It is vital to support excellence in independent health journalism and the free press,” said Common Health Coalition Chair Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc. “The Common Health Coalition is honored to support the work of the National Press Club Journalism Institute’s Public Health Reporting Fellowship. This fellowship helps ensure journalists elevate the important — and often unseen — partnerships occurring across the country between healthcare and public health. And these are stories worth telling, because such partnerships make our health system stronger and our families and communities healthier.” 

The awards will fund the work necessary to complete each reporting project, including travel and time away from regular duties. During the six-month, fully remote program, the fellows will also receive monthly training, access to subject-matter experts, and mentorship customized to their specific project. Projects in any format will be accepted, including print, digital, audio, visual, or broadcast formats.

“Recent history has illustrated the necessity of strong health journalism that not only explains critical issues, but goes further to reveal the impact of solutions-oriented infrastructures that could help move the needle in improving public health,” said Beth Francesco, executive director for the National Press Club Journalism Institute. “These stories take time and resources to report — two things often short in today’s news environment. We’re excited to introduce the Public Health Reporting Fellowship as a solution to directly fund some of these important narratives, and we are grateful to the Common Health Coalition for its financial backing and subject matter guidance.” 

More details on the Public Health Reporting Fellowship: 

• Fellows will receive up to $7,500 in funding to support reporting expenses for a significant project to be published by fellows’ employers or a supporting news outlet. Newsroom and freelance journalists are welcome to apply. Projects would also be distributed across NPCJI networks and partner sites.
• Fellows will have six months (February through July 2025) to complete and publish/distribute their respective projects. 
• Fellows will attend a half-day virtual orientation with training content focused on public health issues, data, resources and research to support their projects.
• Fellows will receive support from leading public health experts and journalists serving as mentors throughout the fellowship.
• Fellows will participate in monthly virtual checkpoints to continue building their knowledge of resources and data.
• Fellows will also participate in a publicly available knowledge-share webinar to assist other health reporters in pursuing this work by describing what they learned and the “how” behind their projects.

Fellowship requirements:

• Applicants must have at least 10 years of professional journalism experience.
• Fellows will report and produce a significant journalism project covering the critical public health topics of our time to be published or broadcast in a U.S.-based media outlet.
• Applicants are asked to provide a letter of support from their employer or the news outlet where they intend to publish their project.
• While previous public health reporting is not a requirement, fellows must demonstrate a commitment to this topic, detailed in their application proposal. 
• Fellows must participate fully in orientation and monthly check-ins.

Those interested in the Public Health Reporting Fellowship can learn more and apply here. Fellowship recipients will be announced in January 2025.

About the National Press Club Journalism Institute

The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest. To sign up for our newsletters and learn more, visit pressclubinstitute.org and follow us on LinkedIn. 

About the Common Health Coalition

The Common Health Coalition: Together for Public Health brings together leading health organizations in pursuit of a reimagined health system: one in which the nation’s health care and public health systems no longer work in parallel, but hand in hand – with better health for all as the common goal. The Coalition’s founding members are the Alliance of Community Health Plans, AHIP, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, and Kaiser Permanente. Former New York City Commissioner of Health Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc, chairs the Coalition, and Chelsea Cipriano, MPH, serves as its managing director. Our work is informed by an advisory council of public health leaders chaired by Georges C. Benjamin, MD, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association, and J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. The Common Health Coalition is hosted by the Institute for Public Health Innovation, a non-profit that builds cross-sector partnerships, promotes health equity, and works to create effective public health systems and policies that foster healthy communities. To sign up for the newsletter or learn more, visit  commonhealthcoalition.org and follow on LinkedIn. 

For press inquiries or questions about the Public Health Reporting Fellowship, contact Beth Francesco with the National Press Club Journalism Institute at bfrancesco@press.org.