We are investing in aspiring journalists
The number of newsroom jobs across America has declined by half since 2008 as consolidation shifts newspapers’ priorities away from on-the-ground community reporting. With a generation of experience lost, restoring local journalism means rebuilding capacity. With both summer and winter journalism fellowships, editorial seminars, and reporting jobs, the Local Journalism Project is engaging a new generation in the work, ethics, and promise of excellent reporting.
Summer Journalism FELLOWSHIPs
at the provincetown independent
The Provincetown Independent welcomes a small group of students to join its reporting team for 10-week summer journalism fellowships each year. It’s an experience that’s challenging and inspiring and also makes a big difference to the Outer Cape community the newspaper serves.
The application period for the 2025 summer fellowship program is now closed.
One more thing: if you live on the Outer Cape, please consider hosting a smart, hard-working young journalist next summer! Interested? Drop us a line!
How to apply for A Summer fellowship at the provincetown independent
The Local Journalism project selects a small group of students to join the newsroom at the Provincetown Independent each summer. Our fellows join the Indie’s newsroom for 10 challenging and inspiring weeks. And they’re weeks that make a real difference to the Outer Cape community, too.
Fellows join editorial meetings, where discussions about what needs to be covered, what makes good story, and what ethical challenges might be encountered in the reporting are discussed. They also take assignments and pitch stories. They practice the skills of the profession — tracking down facts, finding and interviewing sources, writing and rewriting. Guidance and debriefings with editors and peers help writers produce high-quality work that is published in the Independent.
This is a special part of the world. The enormous natural and cultural resources of Provincetown and outermost Cape Cod are here for adventurous fellows to enjoy as a group and independently. This program is for up-and-coming reporters who have some experience working for their college newspapers or have written for other publications. We expect fellows to be ready to delve into our community and to go to work with the Independent’s award-winning team.
Fellows must participate in the full program, start to finish, and receive a stipend of $5,250 for the 10-week period, June 9 - Aug. 15, 2025.
Applications to participate in our summer’s program for college students begins with candidates sending a resume and a 500 word essay describing their trajectories as journalists to Teresa Parker, publisher at the Provincetown Independent. We want to hear your goals and why this journalism fellowship interests you. And we want to see clips that provide evidence of your experience and skills. Finalists are interviewed on a rolling basis.
The application period for the summer of 2025 is now closed.
This year’s fellowship runs June 9 through Aug. 15.
MARY HEATON VORSE WINTER FELLOWSHIP
The long stretch of winter on outermost Cape Cod is a rich time for civic life and creativity, and so a good time to explore life in a community newsroom like the one at the Provincetown Independent.
Mary Heaton Vorse, author of Time and the Town: A Provincetown Chronicle, is our muse for this program. Vorse was a pioneering journalist and civil rights activist who lived in Provincetown from 1907 to 1966.
With thanks to the Murray/Reese Foundation and to all of our donors whose generosity makes these journalism fellowships possible.
APPLY TO BECOME A Mary Heaton Vorse Winter FELLOW
We’re now accepting applications for the 2024-2025 journalism fellowships.
The program welcomes two kinds of fellows:
In Community Reporting for a beginning reporter who wants to learn the nuts, bolts, and ethics of independent journalism in the Provincetown Independent’s award-winning newsroom.
In Community Journalism Leadership for an experienced reporter or editor who wants to practice the leadership skills involved in transforming or starting a small newspaper.
For both journalism fellowships:
A full-time 6-month commitment during the winter months
Competitive compensation
Housing provided in one of the outermost Cape Cod towns covered by the Provincetown Independent newspaper: Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, or Eastham.
The Mary Heaton Vorse Fellows work alongside the editorial staff of the weekly Provincetown Independent newspaper. They are also invited to participate in and write about a range of cultural and literary projects at the Mary Heaton Vorse House in collaboration with other scientific, literary, and cultural organizations on Outer Cape Cod.
Apply now:
Apply to the publisher, Teresa Parker with resume and an essay describing your trajectory as a journalist so far, your goals, and why this journalism fellowship interests you. Please limit your essay to 500 words. Candidates will also be asked for a selection of clips that show their best and most relevant work.