FASPE, A Summer Fellowship On Journalism Ethics

Deadline: 6 January 2012
Open to: Graduate journalism students
Fellowship: Visit German and Polish newsrooms and participate in on-site workshops in Berlin and Auschwitz

Description

The FASPE program for graduate students in journalism programs is an intensive two-week fellowship program that examines the roles played by journalists in Nazi Germany and during the Holocaust, underscoring the breakdown and challenges of the moral codes that govern the journalism profession. The Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE) will choose 10-15 students to examine the role journalists played in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. The program’s integrated approach includes historical, cultural, philosophical, and documentary sources; survivor testimony; visits to German and Polish newsrooms; and on-site workshops in Berlin and Auschwitz.
The FASPE Journalism Program examines the following topics, among others:

• Ethical challenges of reporting on human rights abuses,
• The relationship between state authority and journalism (including censorship and propaganda),
• Media’s role in creating and remembering the historical narrative,
• The role of new-age media in present-day journalism.

The journalism fellowships have the following structure:

• The group gathers at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York for a brief orientation that includes visiting the Museum’s exhibits, meeting with Holocaust survivors, and working with FASPE staff and guest scholars.
• The Fellows travel to Berlin, where they study the city’s historical and cultural sites, visit newsrooms, and meet with German journalists.  Educational workshops take place at such sites as the House of the Wannsee Conference, where, in 1942, representatives of State and Nazi Party agencies convened to discuss and coordinate plans for the “Final Solution.”
• The Fellows will then travel to Oświęcim, Poland, the town the Germans called Auschwitz,where they tour Auschwitz-Birkenau, work with the distinguished staff at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, and take part in their own newsroom.
• The Fellows also travel to Krakow, Poland where they explore the city’s rich Jewish,Catholic, and Polish history. They meet with Righteous among the Nations (rescuers) and Polish journalists and scholars .During the final days of the trip, the Fellows focus exclusively on contemporary ethical issues facing the journalism profession. Sessions will take place at locations such as Jagiellonian University, one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious universities.

The tentative dates for the FASPE Journalism program are May 21, 2012 – June 1, 2012.

Eligibility

• Candidates of all religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
• Graduate journalism students.

Fellowship

• FASPE will choose 10-15 students to examine the role journalists played in Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
• Fellows are expected to produce pieces in the newsrooms throughout the trip and complete a final project following their return from the program.  Fellows are expected to meet with facultyduring the trip to discuss their ideas.  Fellows will be invited to present their final projects at the Museum and pieces will be published on a dedicated FASPE Journalism website.  Projects of the highest merit will be selected for publication in an annual FASPE journal.

Application

Applicants must submit a resume,  academic transcripts, essay and letters of recommendation.
Application form .
The Official Website