The Frank Jamison Community Media Fellowship enables our recipients to explore issues, concerns, and meaningful stories through video within the Greater Kalamazoo Area. In honor of community television pioneer, educator, and documentarian, Frank Jamison, this competitive, merit-based fellowship encourages excellence in documentaries, journalism, and community advocacy.
This selective fellowship recognizes outstanding students with the potential to become impactful producers, journalists, and advocates for communities that are not commonly represented in traditional media. The Frank Jamison Community Media Fellowship is open to college and post-graduate students.
Program Description & Goals
The Frank Jamison Community Media Fellowship is a narrative storytelling program that provides emerging storytellers currently enrolled in a local college or university (or recent graduates) with an opportunity to access professional media training and production resources to produce a four-part series of three-minute documentaries that will elevate content that engages community awareness and catalyzes a call-to-action.
Program Skills Development: • Training in visual storytelling and documentary production. • Training in project development & management. • Access to media production resources and professional equipment. • Durable skills development for impactful storytelling through visual media. • Foster and encourage a desire to pursue documentary filmmaking, broadcast journalism, or visual storytelling as a career.
Additional Program Details: • Mentorship with industry professionals. • Provided topics featuring community involvement and meaningful impact. • Development of an industry professional reel of demonstrable work & tradecraft. • Stipend: $125 to $150 per submitted documentary ($500 total.) • Duration: Three-month program.
Requirements: • 8 to 12 hours per week average time commitment for 12 weeks with regular attendance and check-in expectations with mentors. • Intellectual curiosity, self-motivated learner, and attention to detail. • Ability to lift 25 pounds. • Be a team player & thoughtful collaborator. • Access to reliable transportation.