ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP

Participant Media and The Boston Globe are proud to sponsor the fifth year of the Spotlight Investigative Journalism Fellowship. The fellowship awards up to $100,000 for one or more individuals or teams of journalists to work on in-depth research and reporting projects. The chosen journalist(s) will collaborate with established investigative reporters and editors from The Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize-winning Spotlight Team.

This year, the coronavirus pandemic has hastened the crisis in local journalism, resulting in job cuts, belt-tightening, and even more hurdles to producing groundbreaking investigative journalism. Because of this, we decided to open up the application process to include not only freelance reporters, but also other newsrooms and multi-reporter teams. Do you or your team have the makings of a great project but are in need of extra resources and support? Apply here.

Deadline is September 24. All work would be produced in collaboration with the Globe.

Spotlight Fellows have already exposed dangerously lax oversight of aviation; the failure of virtually every state to follow federal child abuse law; government surveillance of innocent air travelers; and the rising threat from toxic E. coli in leafy green vegetables.

The primary goal is to do great journalism like "Secrets in the Sky," from 2016 Spotlight Fellows Jaimi Dowdell and Kelly Carr, "A Cry for Help" by 2017 Fellows Emily Palmer and Jessica Huseman, and “Quiet Skies,” from 2018 Fellow Jana Winter. The stories should be of keen interest to a national or New England audience.

What will you investigate?

If you previously applied to this fellowship before the pandemic took hold, don't worry, your submission is already in the applicant pool.