Hogan-Newton Fund provides fellowships for student internships

Three SF State Journalism students will receive fellowships to do internships at Bay Area community news organizations next year, thanks to a grant from the Hogan-Newton Fund for Young Journalists.

The Hogan-Newton Fund is named for Mary Ann Hogan, the popular journalist, writing coach and professor who died in 2019, and her husband, Bay Area writer Eric Newton. Hogan, a nationally known writing teacher and newsroom coach, taught journalism classes at SF State. Newton, who has worked in journalism, museums, philanthropy and education, graduated from SF State and in 2009 was named a distinguished alumnus.

The Hogan-Newton Fellowship supports diverse journalists who are deeply interested in reporting urgent community issues.

"We are proud to help SF State's superb Journalism department launch the Hogan-Newton Fellows program," Newton said. "America is in the grip of a local news crisis, and we all need to do our part."

The first fellowship will be awarded to a bilingual student who will be assigned to intern at El Tecolote, the longest running bilingual, biweekly newspaper serving San Francisco’s Mission District. Published by Acción Latina, the newspaper promotes cultural arts, community media, and civic engagement as a way of building healthy and empowered Latino communities.

El Tecolote was founded in 1970 by Juan Gonzales, who was then a SF State instructor; he created the newspaper as a project of his La Raza Studies journalism class. He hoped to make the newspaper a launchpad for Latinx journalists who could go on to diversify other newsrooms and also to cover news about Latino communities that mainstream outlets often overlooked.

Gonzales went on to chair the Journalism Department at City College of San Francisco, where many SF State journalism majors get their start.

The SF State Journalism Department continues to have a strong relationship with El Tecolote. Editor-in-chief Alexis Terrazas is a graduate of the program, and students who take JOUR 575 Community Journalism report for the newspaper.

Acción Latina will offer a 16-week paid internship with El Tecolote newspaper for the spring of 2022 (Jan. 24-May 13). The fellow will be awarded a stipend of $2,200.

Fellows may select a specific track in either photography, audio, writing or a combination of these media throughout their fellowship.

QUALIFICATIONS

• SF State student with a major or minor in journalism
• Strong writing skills
• Multimedia skills a plus
• Photography, audio and video experience a plus
• Excellent organizational and time management skills
• Strong communication and leadership skills
• Bilingual/Bicultural (English/Spanish)

TO APPLY : Please email resumé and cover letter to humanresources@accionlatina.org by December 6. Please include at least two work samples in your application. For more information about Acción Latina and El Tecolote, visit the websites for Accion Latina and Eltecolote.

The grant from the Hogan-Newton Fund for Young Journalists will fund two other fellowships next year at yet-to-be-named community news organizations.