Rural journalists can receive funding for computer-assisted reporting training

Dec 17, 2024

COLUMBIA, Missouri — Journalists who work at smaller news organizations with a significant rural audience can apply for fellowships that cover much of the cost of attending a training bootcamp for computer-assisted reporting by IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors). The goal of the fellowships is to help journalists at these organizations learn how to do important investigative stories that provide a public service for people in rural communities.

The deadline is Jan. 6 to apply for the March 24-28 bootcamp, which will be held at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism in Columbia. That bootcamp is meant for beginners in data-driven journalism or journalists with minimal data experience.

According to IRE, a “Data Journalism Bootcamp equips journalists across all beats and media platforms with essential data skills. These weeklong, intensive sessions are designed to make data analysis accessible — even for beginners. If you’re new to data journalism, our March and August bootcamps are perfect, as they focus on Google Sheets.”

May 6 is the deadline to apply for fellowships to attend the Aug. 4-8 bootcamp.

The Rural Computer-Assisted Reporting fellowships (R-CAR) are provided through a fund created by journalist Daniel Gilbert, who won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for public service and a Scripps Howard Foundation National Journalism Award for community journalism for a series of stories about the mismanagement of natural gas royalties in southwest Virginia.

Gilbert’s donation of the $10,000 prize for the National Journalism Award was matched by the Scripps Howard Foundation and funded through a Kentucky state program. The funds are housed in an endowment as part of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky.

The R-CAR fellowships cover registration costs for the bootcamp (up to $1,250 value), a one-year IRE membership or renewal, and a travel stipend of up to $500.

For more information or to apply, go to https://www.ire.org/training/fellowships-and-scholarships/r-car-fellowship/