WASHINGTON (TIP): The Frank Islam & Debbie Driesman Foundation started by Indian-Ameican Frank Islam and his wife, Debbie Driesman, will partner with Alfred Friendly Press Partners (AFPP) to fund a fellowship for a mid-career journalist from India in 2017 for six months. The fellowship will be administered by AFPP, which has so far trained 300 journalists from the developing world. The Frank Islam & Debbie Driesman Fellow will work in a major newsroom in Washington, DC, for five months after undergoing a five-week training at Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.
“The Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman Foundation is proud to join hands with Alfred Friendly Press Partners to fund a fellowship for a mid-career journalist from India,” said Frank F Islam, President of the Frank Islam & Debbie Driesman Foundation, in a statement. “Debbie and I consider the fellowship as a strategic investment in free press. Over the past three decades, AFPP has trained 15 world class journalists from India who have gone on to become leaders in the field. It is our earnest belief that the FIDD Fellow will continue that tradition,” he said.
“We are especially delighted to welcome Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman to our fold. Family is the reason that we’ve been able to train more than 300 journalists in 90 different countries for over 30 years,” said Randall D Smith, President of the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships.
A candidate who has three years of professional experience as a journalist and employed as a journalist by an independent news media organization in India can apply for the fellowship, the foundation said.
During the roughly six-month program, the FIDD Fellow will:
Gain experience in reporting, writing, editing, and editorial decision-making that will enhance professional performance;
A practical understanding of the function and significance of the free press in American society;
Have a firsthand knowledge of the industry’s technological advances; and Transfer knowledge to colleagues at home in India.