Michelle Lang Fellowship
Postmedia is a Canadian newsmedia company representing more than 130 brands across multiple print, online and mobile platforms. Award-winning journalists and innovative product development teams bring engaging content to millions of people every week whenever and wherever they want it.
This exceptional content, reach and scope offers advertisers and marketers compelling solutions to effectively reach target audiences. We are always on the lookout for talented individuals to join our team.
The Opportunity:
Michelle Lang’s journalism probed politicians, highlighted injustices, explored solutions to health care problems and told the stories of ordinary Canadians in extraordinary circumstances.
The Michelle Lang Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for a promising journalist at the beginning of their career to grow their skills in the profession and bolster their experience with a full year working in two of Canada’s busiest newsrooms.
The Fellow will divide their year between stints working for the National Post and the Calgary newsroom of Postmedia, which produces the Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun. The Fellow will learn first-hand about the differences in reporting for a major metro market and for a national audience.
The successful applicant will also select and deliver a year-long focus on a topic of primary importance to Canadians. Their work — which can draw on the widest range of journalistic tools available, from quick turnaround reporting to investigations, data projects to video storytelling — should contribute to a national conversation. They will become a subject expert across the country, maintaining a dedicated focus on a topic not given the attention it warrants.
Creativity in storytelling and a dogged approach to covering their topic throughout the year are key. They will work with editors and their reporting will be delivered to the biggest audience in the country through the Postmedia network.
The fellowship was established in honour of Michelle Lang, a Calgary Herald reporter who was killed by a homemade bomb on Dec. 30, 2009, on the outskirts of Kandahar, Afghanistan, along with four Canadian soldiers. Michelle was covering the Canadian military’s operations in Afghanistan. She was the Herald’s terrific young health reporter, and she had won a National Newspaper Award that spring.
The Fellowship:
The Michelle Lang Fellowship is a salaried fellowship, with salary to be paid at the starter reporter rate.
Beginning in early 2024, the fellow will work for six months at the National Post for breaking news and in-depth stories coast to coast, and then approximately six months for the Calgary Herald, a major metro daily.
Fellows will have the opportunity to report on issues of regional, national and international scope, collaborate with and learn from senior writers and reporters, as well as explore opportunities in digital journalism.
At the conclusion of their one-year fellowship, Fellows will have numerous clippings for their portfolio, a wealth of knowledge about how newsrooms work, a better understanding of world issues, a network of sources and contacts in media across Canada and the confidence needed to launch a successful career in journalism.
Funding for the Michelle Lang Fellowship will be provided by the Calgary Herald and Postmedia Network Inc., as well as the Michelle Lang Trust.
Fellows will be expected to focus on a topic that would address the goals Michelle Lang aspired to in her daily journalism: telling stories that have gone unreported or unnoticed.
Who you are:
Michelle Lang held a Bachelor of Arts degree in English so this fellowship is not limited to students studying journalism. The criteria for selection are:
A commitment to journalism and a love of storytelling in all its forms
Strong writing and communication skills
A natural curiosity and a desire to effect change through journalism
An ability to work well with colleagues
Basic reporting skills
Bilingualism, in French or other languages, is considered an asset
Previous daily newspaper experience is an asset but is not mandatory
Successful candidates must have a valid driver’s licence.
If you are interested in this opportunity please apply with the following information contained in one combined document.
A cover letter explaining why you are the best candidate.
A summary of the special topic you would like to pursue as part of the Fellowship. Please explain the specific issue or topic you hope to tackle, how you would go about researching your project, how your work might shed light on the subject that other journalists have not addressed, and how your content might be presented in a dynamic media environment.
A résumé.
Three samples of your best published work (samples should show range of work and an ability to handle complex subjects).
Three signed references, to be included in your application (please do not send separately as we cannot guarantee that they will be matched with your file).
Application deadline: Oct. 13, 2023