Introducing photojournalism scholarships from Chiron Return

An opportunity to learn journalistic technique, work with editors and fund your on-the-scene story.

Facing south across Colvin Blvd toward the north end of the Love Canal chemical dump in Niagara Falls, NY. Photo by Eric Francis for Planet Waves FM. Nobody really understands Love Canal unless they personally pay a visit to the neighborood.

Dear Friend and Reader:

Are you working on a photojournalism project or do you have one in mind? Photojournalism is a modality where the story is told in both written words and photographs.

Chiron Return, the Pacifica Network affiliate and publisher of Planet Waves FM, is offering three $1,000 scholarships plus editorial guidance and first publication for your finished work.

Our focus is on photojournalism because it calls for on-scene reporting. We are here to encourage people to get up from their desks as part of getting the story.

This request for proposals is a pilot project for a new Chiron Return journalism mentorship initiative. Others are in the works, including an essay competition. Please stay tuned.

We are especially interested in solo photojournalism projects. However, stories may be team-reported as long as one member of the team goes to the scene of the event, incident, or development (at least, the photographer), and the writer conducts direct interviews. Final submission will require audio or video of at least three recorded interviews with primary subjects.

Any Topic is Acceptable for Proposal

Any focused topic is acceptable for a proposal, whether it seems publicly significant or not. Most submissions are likely to be local or regional stories, though any geographic range that meets the qualifications will be acceptable.

Events at conferences that happened within one year of the proposal submission date are acceptable.

We will be partial to projects that document something happening in one’s local community or region. Ultimately, all journalism is local, and much depends on trusted, personal connections between the journalist and the subjects.

Stage One: Proposals

In stage one, we will consider proposals consisting of a 300-word (basically, a one page pitch letter) synopsis of the story, and two original photographs associated with the story. We will interview the photojournalist or one or more members of the reporting team as part of the approval process.

Three proposed projects will be selected for development. Chiron Return will serve as the editorial oversight structure through which the articles are developed and published, and if necessary, the credentialing organization.

Stage Two: Completion and Publication

Upon successful, timely completion of the project based on our editorial guidelines, finished projects will be awarded $1,000 by Chiron Return, Inc. Finished projects will consist of original text of 1,500 to 2,000 words; 10 submitted photos; three recorded interviews, preferably in-person; and any other documentation necessary.

Submitted work considered for an award will be subjected to a subjective quality evaluation, plus basic editorial review and fact-verification, document authentication and conflict of interest and fair play (opportunity for all involved parties to respond to the story prior to submission).

Chiron Return will retain rights of first publication and/or broadcast of qualifying (award winning) articles for six months, after which time rights return to the author(s).

Qualifications

Articles, interviews and documents must be submitted in the English language.

Ten original photos must be submitted with the finished work, of which we will choose several accompany the writing. Photographs must be submitted as digital negatives (such as Camera Raw or DNG format readable by Photoshop).

Audio or video interviews submitted with the reporting package must be referenced and quoted in the article. All primary and secondary source documents used in the preparation of the article must be provided and are subject to authentication.

Any age journalist may contribute, though collaboraton privileges and publication rights to Chiron Return must be assigned by a parent or legal guardian for those under age 18.

All reporting activities must be lawful within their local area. Chiron Return does not take responsibility for the conduct of scholarship applicants, who are expected to conduct themselves professionally at all times. One team member will be designated as the leader to receive the award, if applicable.

Deadline and Guidelines

Proposal submission date is July 1, 2024. We will get back to those submitting proposals through the summer, at latest by Sept. 1, 2024 (probably a lot earlier). Finished work must be submitted by Nov. 1, 2024.

Evaluations (meaning selection decisions) will be returned by Feb. 1, 2025 at latest, though this may happen much sooner in some instances.

We will accelerate the review process for articles that are deemed by us to be timely and calling for more immediate publication.

Journalists working on articles will remain in regular contact with Chiron Return through the story development process. We retain the right to edit the fnished article and the photographs to our standards of publication.

Submission and Contact Information

Please submit your application consisting of a cover letter explaining the project and identifying the journalist(s), plus two original photos with captions from the story (in CR or DNG formats), and 400 words of sample text by email to efc@chironreturn.org. Please use the words PHOTOJOURNALISM SCHOLARSHIP in the subject header.

We will verify receipt of all submissions once received. If we do not verify receipt, we did not get it. If necessary, please call to confirm: (845) 481-4616.

Please include contact information (legal name, email and phone contact) for all members of the reporting team. We may request additional information (such as prior published work) to start the process.

Good luck and thank you for your application.

Supporting This Initiative

You are invited to support this initiative by making a donation to the scholarship fund or by being a volunteer on our Editorial Review Board. To volunteer to be a reviewer, please send a short letter to efc@chironreturn.org. Thank you for your involvement and your trust.

To learn more about our mission, tap the coin.