Documented is seeking an ambitious reporter who wants to write about issues affecting New York’s immigrant communities to apply to the Isaac Rauch Fellowship.
In the past year, we covered the increasing dangers of heavy rains and how climate change is destroying immigrant neighborhoods. We wrote dozens of stories on migrants arriving in New York from the southern border, examining the issues they face and informing them of their rights and how they can access financial support, health care and other services. We kept a close watch on New York’s many industries that are kept alive by immigrant workers, documenting wrongdoing as well as the city’s thriving labor advocacy movements.
To continue this legacy of investigative journalism, Documented is proud to launch the Isaac Rauch Fellowship, an annual six-month fellowship that seeks to uncover stories that matter to immigrant New Yorkers.
We are providing a stipend of $10,000 to the incoming Isaac Rauch Fellow to support their project proposal. Stories can be an accountability-based series, a magazine-level feature story, or even a short documentary on topics including housing, culture, immigration policy issues, public safety, and more. The only requirement is the idea must be fresh and uncover new information. We are not looking for deep dives into topics that have been widely covered.
We will open all of our resources to you during this fellowship, including access to our large audience of Spanish-speaking New Yorkers, many of whom are long time undocumented residents or recently arrived asylum seekers. We also have a growing audience in New York’s Chinese and Caribbean communities. We will help you engage our readers and connect you with potential sources. We don’t expect you to be an expert in public policy or immigration, but we are seeking well-researched and ambitious ideas that you can accomplish.
If you’re interested, please submit a proposal of no more than 500 words with a description of the story you hope to tell, a list of potential sources and links to previous stories. The fellowship includes a $10,000 stipend and you will be expected to deliver your work in six months.
The Isaac Rauch Fellowship is named for Isaac Rauch, who died of cancer at 29 in 2020. Isaac was a sharp political observer with a broad sense for New York’s political landscape and enthusiasm for its intricacies past, present, and future, from Far Rockaway to Yonkers. A dextrous and versatile writer, Isaac’s depth of thought and analysis, combined with his formidable research skills, made him an insightful addition to Deadspin, Time Out New York, and Slate. His passion for social justice was evident in his work with CAMBA, numerous elected officials, and the participatory budgeting process.
Isaac represented the best in what this fellowship aims to provide: compelling journalistic narrative, seeking the truth from our elected officials and their appointees, and creating equity for the immigrant communities that make New York City.
Please submit your application using this form by 11:59 p.m. EST May 19, 2023.
