Apply Now: The McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism

The Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Center for Business Journalism provides experienced journalists with grants and the editorial support needed to produce deeply reported enterprise and investigative stories that delve into critical economic, financial or business issues across a wide array of subjects. You don’t need to be a business reporter to apply; many of their previous Fellows have been generalists, or cover beats such as health care, education or the environment. Others have focused on issues such as economic inequality or corporate accountability.

They consider proposals from both freelance and staff journalists in all forms of media — text, audio, photo, and short-form video — and encourage those that combine formats to create a multimedia package. They look for projects that focus on important local or regional topics, as well as those that tackle compelling national or international stories or report on under-covered communities or issues. Journalists of color and those from diverse backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.

The McGraw Fellowship provides editorial and financial support to journalists who need the time and resources to produce a significant investigative or enterprise story that provides fresh insight into an important business, financial or economic topic. They accept applications for in-depth text, audio and short-form video pieces. Unfortunately, they cannot support long-form documentaries at this time. The McGraw Fellowship is not a residency Fellowship. Even outside of the current pandemic, all McGraw Fellows work from their own offices.

Funding Information

• The Fellowship provides a grant of up to $15,000 for each project. The exact amount will depend on the time it takes to complete the project and the expenses needed. Freelance journalists may use some of the funding as a stipend for living expenses during the Fellowship. They look for applicants with a proven ability to report and execute a complex project in their proposed medium; ideally, candidates will also have a strong background or reporting expertise on the subject of their project.

Eligibility Criteria

• The McGraw Fellowship for Business Journalism is open to anyone with at least five years professional experience in journalism. They support work by freelance journalists, as well as by reporters and editors currently working at a news organization or a journalism non-profit. In the latter case, reporters and editors can apply directly in the name of their organization.

For more information, visit Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Center for Business Journalism.