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 fellowships, editorial seminars, and reporting jobs, the Local Journalism Project is engaging a new generation in the work, ethics, and promise of excellent reporting.

A young scientist studies piping plovers on the Outer Beach in Eastham.

Summer FELLOWSHIPs
at the provincetown independent

The Provincetown Independent welcomes a small group of students to join its reporting team for 10-week summer fellowships each summer. It’s an experience that’s challenging and inspiring and also makes a big difference to the Outer Cape community the newspaper serves.

We have closed the applications process for the 2024 summer fellowship program and are finalizing our selections now. We thank the many smart, devoted college reporters and other students who have applied and hope you will stay in touch. And 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!

APPLY NOW 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. The 2024 fellowship starts Monday, June 10 and runs through Friday, August 16.

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.

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 fellowship interests you. And we want to see clips that provide evidence of your experience and skills. Finalists will be interviewed on a rolling basis and selections finalized by March 1, 2024.

We are no longer accepting applications for the summer of 2024. News about our 2024-2025 winter program will be posted soon.

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 here.

Winter fellows join the award-winning newsroom at the Provincetown Independent thanks to the generosity of the Murray/Reese Foundation. They are welcomed to the Mary Heaton Vorse house thanks to the Provincetown Arts Society.

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 1962.

APPLY TO BECOME A Mary Heaton Vorse Winter FELLOW

We have welcomed Aden Choate as the Mary Heaton Vorse winter fellow for 2023-2024.

We’ll keep you posted here when we begin accepting applications for next winter. 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 fellowships:

  • A full-time 6-month commitment during the winter months

  • Competitive compensation

  • Housing provided in the historic heart of Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod

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 organized by the Provincetown Arts Society in collaboration with the Fine Arts Work Center, the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, and other scientific, literary, and cultural organizations on Outer Cape Cod.

Apply to the publisher, Teresa Parker with resume and an essay describing your trajectory as a journalist so far, your goals, and why this 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. We will open the application period for the 2024-2025 winter fellowship during the summer of 2024.

The Mary Heaton Vorse Winter Journalism Fellowships have been made possible through
the generous support of the Murray/Reese Foundation
and the Provincetown Arts Society

2023 SUMMER FELLOWS

  • Oliver Egger

    Summer 2023 Fellow
    Durham, N.C. - Wesleyan University

  • Sophie Griffin

    Summer 2023 Fellow
    Wainscott, N.Y.. - Wesleyan University

  • Georgia Hall

    Summer 2023 Fellow
    London, England - Davidson College

  • Nicholas Miller

    Summer 2023 Fellow
    Baltimore, Md.. - Brown University

  • Elias Schisgall

    Summer 2023 Fellow Brooklyn, N.Y. - Harvard University

Local journalism project alumni

  • Emma Madgic Summer Fellow 2022 from San Mateo, Calif. - Brown University

  • Greta Magendantz Summer Fellow 2022 from West Hartford, Conn. - Northeastern University

  • Nora Markey Summer Fellow 2022 from Springfield, Mass. - Wesleyan University

  • Isabelle Nobili Summer Fellow 2022 from Eastham, Mass - Johns Hopkins University

  • Thomas Lyons Winter Fellow 2022 from Deerfield, Mass. - Wesleyan University

  • Cam Blair Summer Fellow 2021 from Conway, Mass. - Hamilton College

  • Ben Glickman Summer Fellow 2021 from New York, N.Y. - Brown University

  • Sophie Hills Summer Fellow 2021 from Orleans, Mass. - Principia College

  • Alex Sharp Summer Fellow 2021 from South Deerfield, Mass. - Tufts University

  • Allyson Birger Summer Fellow 2020 from Hillsborough, Calif. - Tufts University

  • Josephine de La Bruyère Summer Fellow 2020 from New York, N.Y. - Princeton University

  • Sabina Lum Summer Fellow 2020 from Vienna, Va. - Williams College

  • Cana Tagawa Summer Fellow 2020 from Honolulu, Hawaii - Tufts University

  • Olivia Weeks Summer Fellow 2020 from West Frankfort, Ill. - Harvard University