The Narco News Bulletin

Announcing 37 Scholarships in Authentic Journalism

From July 30th to August 8th, 2004, the Narco News J-School Comes to Cochabamba and the Coca-Growing Chapare Region of Bolivia

By Al Giordano
Publisher

March 31, 2004
This report appears on the internet at http://www.narconews.com/Issue32/article936.html

The Narco News Bulletin announces 37 scholarships for a ten-day, very intensive, program in Authentic Journalism, for journalism students and beginning journalists who speak Spanish, Portuguese and/or English.

The 2004 session of the School of Authentic Journalism will be held from July 30th to August 8th, in Cochabamba, Bolivia, with fieldwork and study in the coca-growing Chapare region.

Applications for this scholarship are available via email only from solicitud@narconews.com. Completed applications are due, via email only, on May 1st, 2004.

The following professors have been invited and have confirmed their participation:

* Denotes 2003 graduate returning as professor.
** Denotes returning 2003 professor.
Country denotes professor's current location.

The following lecturers have been invited, but have not yet confirmed their participation at press time:

About the Scholarships

The first session of the Narco News School of Authentic Journalism was held in Mérida and Isla Mujeres on (and a short boat ride off) of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula in February 2003. There were seven full scholarship recipients (for whom we were able to pay all travel expenses) and 19 partial scholarship recipients (some who contributed to room and board, some who did not). Tuition was not charged to anyone for the classes, courses, and workshops held at the school. An equal number of professors paid their own travel, room, and board to share their time and skills with each other and with such outstanding scholars.

This year the student-professor ratio will be something like that, only more so, since there will be more students and professors this year. Available funding and the relative travel costs of each recipient will determine the exact number of full scholarships available (as of today we have $6,000 dollars devoted to full scholarships for the 2004 session: If you think that number should be higher you can earmark a contribution to that fund via this link, courtesy of The Fund for Authentic Journalism).

You can also make a general contribution to the J-School's general fund, which includes funding for partial scholarships, at the same link.

Or send your contribution, with instructions, to The Fund for Authentic Journalism:

The Fund for Authentic Journalism
P.O. Box 71051
Madison Heights, MI 48071
USA

All contributions specifically noted for the J-School will be spent only on the J-School.

With the advice and counsel of admissions committee members Alex Contreras Baspineiro and Luis Gómez, I will select the scholarship recipients (blame me, not them, if you don't receive one of this year's scholarships; in any case, there will most probably be a next year: the School of Authentic Journalism is here to stay.).

The names of scholarship recipients will be announced on or near May 16th, 2004, at a special gala event for The Fund for Authentic Journalism, in Los Angeles, California, exact date, location, and hour to be announced. The names of scholarship recipients will be simultaneously published on NarcoNews.com.

Six of this year's scholars have already been invited. Four attended or were invited to attend smaller J-School workshops last year and are being invited back to complete the program: Sandra Alland of Canada, Sarahy Flores of Mexico, Annalena Oeffner of Germany and Lucian Read of the United States. Additionally, Benjamin Melançon of the United States and Soraya Aguilar of Bolivia have earned and received scholarships for this year's session. The written application process will determine the remaining 31 scholarship winners. The names of the recipients will be announced in mid-May.

Please forward this announcement of 37 Scholarships in Authentic Journalism to journalism students and beginning journalists that you think might be good candidates for this scholarship. We are casting a very wide net - in Spanish, Portuguese, and English - seeking this year's "Authentic 37" or more. Also, please distribute this announcement on email lists, and publish it on websites, where these kinds of journalists, or their professors, or their employers, are likely to read it and learn of this exciting event and the opportunities it provides for a certain kind of journalist.

For updates, announcements, and new information on the scholarships, and to learn of the eventual recipients, subscribe to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/narconews

Applications can be received by sending an email to solicitud@narconews.com. Completed applications are due on May 1, 2004.

Cosponsored By:	Transportation Provided By:
Universidad Mayor de San Simon	Lloyd Aereo Boliviano