•••• Overview

•••• Terms of fellowship

•••• Our mission

•••• 2004 Fellows

•••• How to apply

•••• 2003 Highlights

•••• Directors •••

•••• Contributing partners

•••• Staff biographies
Overview

WPI fellows begin their four-month fellowship with more than a dozen briefings about aspects of the United States conducted primarily by Macalester College faculty, plus a four-day journalism seminar. The fellows then embark on an arduous three-month journey across the U.S., with briefings, interviews and visitations in nearly half the states in the nation.
WPI’s 2002 fellows participated in briefings at the Pentagon on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks; interviewed people caught by immigration officials while being smuggled across the Mexico-U.S. border; met with journalists at news organizations ranging in size from the weekly Ely Echo in northern Minnesota to CNN in Atlanta; spent time on family farms; attended professional baseball and hockey games; interviewed scientists working in biotechnology, and participated in more than 100 additional interviews, briefings and cultural performances to learn firsthand about the U.S.

In 42 years, nearly 470 journalists from 93 countries have benefited from the WPI experience.

Selection is a competitive process. Each year, 100-200 journalists outside the U.S. apply by the Dec. 31 deadline. Requirements for applicants, who must have demonstrated a potential for leadership, include:

WPI 2000 fellow Kwesi Binney of Ghana makes a point during a forum on U.S. society, elections and news media.
• At least five years of full-time news experience.

• Fluency in all aspects of English.

• Several written essays.

• Three letters of recommendation.

• At least three work samples.

Candidates are not considered if their application package is late or incomplete. After the WPI staff winnows the number of applicants to 30 or so, the fellows are picked by the WPI selection committee, composed of journalists and corporate communications specialists, all with international experience.

The World Press Institute is a private, nonprofit organization supported by a wide range of foundations, local and national media, multinational U.S. corporations, and individuals from all over the world. In addition to financial contributions, WPI receives thousands of hours of support from host families, Macalester faculty who lecture our fellows about U.S. history and other topics, corporations and citizens around the country who allow themselves and their employees to be interviewed, and others who volunteer their time, expertise, and friendship to our international journalists.

WPI is committed to achieving racial and gender equity in its selection of fellows, topics and persons interviewed.