Announcing Two Scholarships for Authentic Journalists or Students

Recipients Will Attend Oct. 31 – Nov. 2 Rowe Center Workshop for Free

By Narco News Agency
Narco News School of Authentic Journalism

September 3, 2003

The Narco News School of Authentic Journalism announces two scholarships for beginning journalists or journalism students to attend a three-day workshop at the Rowe Conference Center in Western Massachusetts, October 31st through November 2nd.

Tom Lesser D.R. 2003 Jeremy Bigwood

The workshop, “Authentic Journalism, Latin America, and the Drug War,” will be led by Narco News publisher Al Giordano and friends, including online free speech attorney Thomas Lesser, who represented Narco News in its 2001 New York Supreme Court victory known as the “Drug War on Trial” case. With that landmark court decision, they established First Amendment protections for Internet journalists for the first time under U.S. law.

Scholarships will include free lodging at the Rowe Conference Center on Friday, October 31st and Saturday, November 1st, free dinner Friday, breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday, breakfast and lunch on Sunday (by the Rowe Conference Center’s world renowned culinary maestros and maestras), free attendance of all conference sessions, and free admittance to Salón Chingón’s Saturday night “Día de los Muertos” party by Al and entertainer friends.

The Salón Chingón Valentine’s Party in Mérida, last February Clockwise from left: Helena Klang, Rio de Janeiro; Zabeth Flores, Mexico City; Carola Mittrany, Rio de Janeiro, and; Andrea Daugirdas, New York. The guitar player moonlights as a journalist. D.R. 2003 Ana Cernov

Note: The scholarship does not include transportation costs to and from the Rowe Conference Center, which is located in Franklin County, Massachusetts, near the Vermont border, in the scenic Berkshire Mountains (between Greenfield and Williamstown). But, if you don’t have wheels, the good folks at Rowe will be happy to help you hook up and carpool with somebody who does.

The scholarships are open to any human being of any age or background and will be chosen by Al Giordano based on responses to an application that can be obtained via email to jschool@narconews.com. Deadline for completed applications – by email only – is September 21st. Recipients will be announced on or around October 1st.

For an idea of what kind of scholars we seek, see the roster of the 26 recipients of Authentic Journalism Scholarships at the first session of the Narco News J-School, in February, 2003, on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula:

http://www.narconews.com/authentic26.html

Charlie Hardy, at our February session on Isla Mujeres, describing Commercial Media abuses in his city of Caracas, Venezuela D.R. 2003 Jeremy Bigwood

The workshop is described by the Rowe Conference Center’s bi-annual catalogue as:

“This Halloween/Day-of-the-Dead weekend workshop is Al Giordano’s only visit this year to his native United States… He’ll share war stories about reporting from Mexico, Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, and other lands where ‘new ways to fight are being resurrected from ancient traditions.’ He’ll bring a map of Latin America and lead a virtual tour and ‘citizen’s press briefing’ on the changes South of the Border that are galloping northward. Discussions on journalism, drug policy, Latin America, and democracy will resemble a participatory talk show.”

For more information on the weekend workshop, see:

http://www.narconews.com/Issue31/article852.html

If you are not applying for the scholarship, but would like to register to attend the conference, you can do so via the Rowe Conference Center website:

http://www.rowecenter.org

Or, by telephone: (413) 339-4954

Or, contact Rowe Conference Center via email: info@rowecenter.org

The Unitarian-Universalist Rowe Camp and Conference Center is a non-profit retreat in a beautiful rural setting. It offers workshops, camps, and conferences, year-round, and has been doing some of those things since 1924. Past conference leaders have included Abbie Hoffman, Holly Near, Daniel & Phil Berrigan, Liz McAllister, Jean Houston, Paul Winter, Noam Chomsky, Medicine Story, Grace Paley, Terrence McKenna, and many more.

Proud parents from the J-School PTA: Ruben Flores and Nacho Salazar, Associación de Padres de Familia de la Escuela de Periodismo Auténtico de Narco News, S.A. de C.V. D.R. 2003 Al Giordano

Past applicants to the Narco News School of Authentic Journalism need not fill out a new application: a simple email to jschool@narconews.com expressing interest, and updating us on your work since November 15, 2002, will qualify you for consideration. Past scholarship winners, professors, and staff of the Narco News School of Authentic Journalism are not eligible for these two scholarships (but if you’re interested in attending, contact Al.)

Sarahy Flores Sosa, at the Zapatista gathering last month in Oventik, Chiapas, scholar of this summer’s session of the Narco News School of Authentic Journalism D.R. 2003 Al Giordano

The Narco News School of Authentic Journalism is now in its second session, “somewhere in a country called América.” Its reports can be read at http://www.narconews.com/

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: September 21st at midnight, via email, to jschool@narconews.com (you can obtain the application questionnaire from that same email address).

Summer Session, in Oventik, Chiapas. Left to right: Sarahy Flores Sosa, Andrea Daugirdas, Webmaster Dan Feder, and Ava Salazar. D.R. 2003 Al Giordano

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