Our program
The John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships supports diverse journalists from around the world who are creating solutions to journalism’s most urgent problems. We focus on helping these journalism leaders succeed as effective change agents, improving the access to information people need to create and sustain democratic communities.
Our core fellowship is a 10-month residential program on the Stanford University campus that allows journalists to step away from professional obligations to develop the leadership resilience needed for our times. Through individual coaching, access to Stanford experts and resources, tailored workshops and peer-to-peer learning, the JSK Fellowships helps fellows identify the tools and mindsets needed to effectively lead and navigate change.
The guiding principles for our work are four call-to-action themes to address systemic problems in journalism:
- Challenging Misinformation and Disinformation
- Holding the Powerful Accountable
- Eradicating News Deserts and Strengthening Local News
- Fighting Bias, Intolerance, and Injustice.
Journalism fellowships at Stanford started in 1966 to give journalists broad access to a great university, which would pay off in smarter journalists, and better leadership in the field. We grew through the next decades, and in 1984, with an endowment grant from the Knight Foundation, we renamed the program for John S. Knight (JSK), who, with his brother, James L. Knight, once operated Knight-Ridder, a company that became the largest newspaper chain in the United States.
Today we have built a global community. More than 1,000 journalists from over 80 countries have become fellows, and our numbers continue to grow.
We design each year’s programming — from workshops to guest speakers to individual coaching sessions — to meet the unique needs of the class. But always, we work to create a cohort experience that honors the rich diversity of the group and encourages a sense of fellowship and belonging. JSK Fellows also have access to classes and other learning opportunities at Stanford.
We are part of a multidisciplinary Stanford community that has launched some of the leading initiatives in journalism and media, including the Stanford Computational Journalism Lab, Big Local News and the Virtual Human Interaction Lab and the Brown Institute for Media Innovation.
And we have built and nurtured relationships with the university’s leading research institutes including the Freeman-Spolgi for International Studies, innovative centers of hands-on learning such as the d.school, plus many faculty and scholars who welcome opportunities to interact with JSK Fellows.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the center of our work and we seek fellows who share our commitment to these goals.
Our team
administrative director
engagement editor
selection and resources administrator
office and events coordinator
associate director, post-fellowship programs
technology administrator