Applications for the program are now closed. Participants will be contacted no later than January 3, 2022, about acceptance into the program.

New England journalists are invited to apply for the New England Equity Reporting Fellowship and participate in a Fault Lines Training Series offered by the Maynard Institute.

Improve your news outlet’s reporting and coverage on issues of race and identity and create an inclusive newsroom culture. Build audiences and strengthen community trust.

Fault Lines, A Three-Part Training Series offered by The Maynard Institute
Virtual Sessions Take Place On:
Wednesday, January 19, 2022, Noon to 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, February 9, 2022, Noon to 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 2, 2022, Noon to 2:00 p.m.

This three-part training series is based on addressing personal bias “Fault Lines” of race, gender, sexual orientation, generation, geography, and class, as they apply to journalists, newsrooms and coverage. The series is offered to New England journalists free of charge.
The sessions are upbeat, interactive, and engaging. We seek to create a positive and open atmosphere. It’s about understanding ourselves in the service of more nuanced and inclusive journalism and workplaces.

Why News Outlets Should Participate:
Newsroom leaders are looking for ways to expand their audiences and improve coverage on complex issues like race. We know that involves hiring a diverse staff — but it also means creating a culture of belonging within your newsroom and being willing to revisit long-held journalistic assumptions in the face of community feedback. By doing so, news outlets can improve coverage, expand audiences, improve relationships with the communities they cover, and create better working environments for all employees.

Who Should Apply:
Newsroom Directors
Editors
Reporters
Freelance journalists

What is Expected During the Fellowship:
To make the most of this experience, participants should have the leadership buy-in necessary to embark on this level of assessment, reflection, training, and outcome-driven change.

Participants are asked to commit in advance to attending all three sessions.
Pre- and post-surveys will be administered to gauge understanding, issues, and areas of focus for the training.

Some homework and reflective activities will be assigned during the three-week period between each session.

Ongoing opportunities for peer-to-peer dialogue, coaching, and support will be offered throughout the year following the training series.

About the Maynard Institute:
For more than 40 years, the Maynard Institute has fought to push back against the systemic lack of diversity in the news industry through training, collaborations, and convenings. We are creating better representation in America’s newsrooms through our Maynard 200 fellowship program, which gives media professionals of color the tools to become skilled storytellers, empowered executives, and inspired entrepreneurs.

SPONSORS

With support from:

The 10th Annual GivingTuesday takes place around the world this week on November 30.

People around the world will show generosity through acts of kindness and by giving their voice, time, money, goods, and advocacy to support communities and causes. It’s also a great day to make a donation to your favorite nonprofit news organization.

News for Good makes it easy to support nonprofit news organizations in providing coverage of the places and issues you care about most. You can trust these nonprofit news organizations because they are professionally vetted by the Institute for Nonprofit News.

News for Good provides a state-by-state search on the home page of their website to research and donate to nonprofit newsrooms around the country. A list of some of the New England nonprofit newsrooms follows, sorted from News for Good.

CONNECTICUT

Connecticut Health I-Team
New Haven, Connecticut
DONATE

Online Journalism Project/ New Haven Independent
New Haven, CT
DONATE

The Connecticut Mirror
Hartford, CT
DONATE

The Hartford Guardian
Hartford, Connecticut
DONATE

MAINE

Pine Tree Watch/Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting
Hallowell, Maine
DONATE

MASSACHUSETTS

MuckRock
Cambridge, Massachusetts
DONATE

New England Center for Investigative Reporting
Boston, Massachusetts
DONATE

The Bedford Citizen
Bedford, Massachusetts
DONATE

The GroundTruth Project
Boston, Massachusetts
DONATE

NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism
Barrington, New Hampshire
DONATE

RHODE ISLAND

ecoRI News
Providence, Rhode Island
DONATE

VERMONT

VTDigger
Montpelier, Vermont
DONATE

The New England Better Newspaper Competition categories are reviewed each year to reflect changes in our industry and news coverage. The 2021 competition includes eight new or modified categories including Coverage of Protests and Rallies.

In this category, judges will be asked to consider the quality, accuracy, and context of reporting on protests and rallies as well as their effects on the local community. Entries may consist of a single article or series of articles that are part of ongoing coverage.

Elections. Racial injustice. Immigration. Increasingly, the thornier issues Americans face are being hotly debated in the streets, and that means more journalists are finding themselves covering mass protests. How do you engage with demonstrators and still stay safe? Our expert panel discussed the dos and don’ts of getting the story while avoiding injury, arrest, and COVID-19 during the New England Newspaper Convention on April 8, 2021.

Presented by: Bill Kole, The Associated Press, New England Editor (moderator); Meghan Ottolini, Boston Herald, Multimedia Journalist; Julio Cortez, The Associated Press, Staff Photographer, and Daniela Altimari, Statehouse Reporter, Hartford Courant.

Deadline extended until, Friday, December 3, 2021!

The 2021 Better Newspaper Competition includes three new categories in the Photojournalism Division. Pandemic Photo, Sports Feature Photo, and Sports Action Photo are the new categories joining 11 others to offer the most options for news photographers in New England to showcase their work.

All photographers are eligible to be named Photojournalist of the Year. This award is presented to the most outstanding photojournalist in the competition for both the daily and weekly classes. Finalists are chosen based on the highest number of points garnered from all of their winning entries.

Contemporary Issues Photo – Any photo that portrays the most critical issues we face that have altered lives, perspective or behavior. Examples include: environment, climate change, human rights, guns, violence, homelessness, etc.

Feature Photo – Any photo showing an unusual event, item or person, (not necessarily of a specific news event) or an unusual photo of a commonplace event, item or person.

General News Photo – Any photo of a community happening that is known, assigned and planned for in advance, such as political rallies, town meetings, drum and bugle corps competition, etc.

News Feature Photo – A photo that occurs in the public domain. It can be at a news event but it can also be a stand-alone photo.

Pandemic Photo – Any photo showing life in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples include heroes of the pandemic, isolation, family, lockdown life, etc.

Personality Photo – Any photo of a person or group of people, whose point is to tell, photographically, who the people are, what they are like, and why they are newsworthy.

Photo Series – Two or more photographs relating to the same subject that were published over several editions relating to the same subject.

Pictorial Photo – Any photo of natural scenery, buildings or street scenes, etc. in which the emphasis is on the overall scene rather than people or news events.

Photo Story – Two or more images that are taken and tell a story from beginning to end.

Portrait Photo – An image of a person or a personality that is the focus of the photo.

Photo Illustration – A picture produced from a preconceived idea and intended to clarify or dramatize non-visual or editorial concepts — including, but not limited to, food and fashion.

Spot News Photo – Photos of unexpected news events, such as fires, accidents, unrest or disasters of any kind, for which there is no advance assignment or planning.

Sports Feature Photo – A sports-related feature photo captured outside the action of the game.

Sports Action Photo – An action photo that captures the spirit of a sports competition.

Spot News Photo – Photos of unexpected news events, such as fires, accidents, unrest or disasters of any kind, for which there is no advance assignment or planning.