Awarding fellowships to journalists to pursue independent projects of significant interest and skepticism that will benefit the public.
2023 Fellows
58th Annual Fellowship Winners
Apply for a Fellowship
Applications are now open for independant writing projects funded by the Alicia Patterson Foundation. The fellowship grants, either 12 month ($40,000) or 6 months ($20,000), allow you to do independant research and writing on a topic of your choosing. At least one fellowship is aimed at science and environmental coverage.
Alicia Patterson
Alicia Patterson reluctantly became a newspaper publisher in 1940. Her husband wanted to keep her busy and she wanted to show her accomplished father that she could be as good a journalist as he was. From that timid start she created Newsday, the most successful new daily newspaper of the postwar period.
Our Mission
To foster, promote, sustain and improve the best traditions of American journalism, the Alicia Patterson Foundation awards fellowships to journalists engaged in rigorous, probing, spirited, independent and skeptical work that will benefit the public. The foundation will support journalism and will foster a community of journalists engaged in truthfully informing the public.
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More than 50 years of serious journalism
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For over five decades, the Alicia Patterson Foundation has been giving top journalists the time away from daily deadlines to pursue stories of significance that have changed policies, illuminated problems and educated the public. The cost of in-depth reporting and the shrinking size of newsrooms has made the support of APF even more critical for an informed society.
Current Fellows 2023
Susie Cagle
“The Unintended Consequences of California’s Water Policies”
Anakwa Dwamena
“Climate Change and Democracy in West Africa”
Oscar Lopez
“Mexico’s Disappeared”
Jyoti Madhusoodanan
“Human Experiments: Unblinding Clinical Trials”
Melba Newsome
“Climate Displacement for People of Color”
Eric Peterson
“Domestic Violence in Utah”
Keith Schneider
“Confronting Agriculture’s Toxic Discharge”
Sophie Will
“Domestic Violence in Utah”
April Zhu
“Culture and Power in Kenya-China Relations”
New U.S. Climate Law Could Make Midwest Water Contamination Worse
Billions in clean energy incentives rely on raw materials from polluting corn and livestock. This report was made possible by an investigative reporting fellowship awarded by the Alicia Patterson Foundation. A version of this article was co-published by Circle of
Police Personnel Records Routinely Kept Secret, Erased. How That Hurts Accountability
After four decades of hiding records of police misconduct, California has become one of the most transparent states. Prompted by a 2018 bill authored by State Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Berkeley Democrat, and two follow-up bills signed into law this
States look to help people with criminal records find jobs, housing. What they’re doing
The clean slate movement to expunge public records of arrests and convictions has been gathering momentum as concerns about mass incarceration in the United States and the effort to decriminalize drug use have gained traction. But the potential erasure of
Can ‘clean slate’ laws really erase criminal records from public view? It’s complicated
Anyone who has used a dating app knows the value of an Internet search before showing up for coffee. So do employers and landlords, who will scroll on their own for insights and information they may have missed in an
‘Clean slate’ laws would erase criminal records. Do they make America more equitable?
‘Clean slate’ laws in America How effective are new laws that erase criminal records? Take a look at the racial justice movement taking hold across California and the U.S. that aims to allow former felons to find a better life.
The Deep American Roots of the Atlanta Shooting
Among the first things I did upon learning about the shootings at three massage parlors in the Atlanta area was to check in with a former massage parlor worker I met in 2019. At the time, I was reporting an article about a prostitution raid at a Florida massage parlor.
New Dominion
How a grassroots groundswell, legal challenges and political and technological sea changes combined to force Virginia’s most powerful company to abandon the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, pivot from natural gas and onto a cleaner energy path. “Hung up in the mountains”
Is Natural Gas a Fossil Fuel with a Great Future Behind It?
As the pandemic sends shock waves through the energy industry, investors are rethinking their bets on America’s decade-long natural gas boom. On June 28th, Chesapeake Energy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It was a long-expected announcement. The hydraulic fracturing pioneer
The Limits of Disturbance
With its permitting authority over natural gas infrastructure, the little-known Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has sweeping power over individual citizens’ property and our collective climate trajectory. Critics say that reforming its pipeline review process should be high on President Joe Biden’s agenda.
No Justice in Veracruz, as Journalist’s Death is Unsolved
The death of reporter Regina Martinez was almost too much for her colleagues to bear.
Four others already had been murdered in Veracruz state in the first two years of Gov. Javier Duarte’s term
The House Over Hades
In June of 1996, Kathi Loughlin’s phone rang at work. It was her child’s nanny, and she was frantic. “Something is going on here, you need to come home,” the nanny said, a note of panic in her voice. Loughlin
The Unique Art of Sign Painting in Los Angeles
Known for its sweet potato pies, the long-established 27th Street Bakery at 2700 S. Central Avenue, also is distinguished by its red and white exterior and painted signage, done in all caps san serif black letters shadowed in gray.
New Dominion
Is Natural Gas a Fossil Fuel with a Great Future Behind It?
The Limits of Disturbance
No Justice in Veracruz, as Journalist’s Death is Unsolved
The House Over Hades
Death by Dust
