At a time when some media organizations speak of a decline in public interest in international news, Pew Charitable Trusts took a mighty step to bolster foreign news when it made a $2.9 million grant to the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University, to develop a fellowship program in international affairs for young journalists.

John Schidlovsky, a veteran foreign correspondent, journalism educator and former director of the Freedom Forum Asian Center in Hong Kong, is the program's leader. The Pew Fellowships in International Journalism will blend classroom instruction with practical reporting experience. Key issues will be population, migration, the environment and human rights.

Fellowship candidates should submit an essay describing a specific international topic or story they would focus on during their fellowship. Fellows are chosen by a seven-member advisory board comprising journalists and experts in global concerns. Selections are based upon the candidates' professional accomplishments, interests in overseas issues and the nature of the projects described in the candidate essay.

SAIS, in the heart of downtown Washington, is a leader in the study of international relations at the graduate level. Its web site is found at www.sais-jhu.edu/. The Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trusts is among the largest U.S. philanthropic organizations. In 1997 it awarded $181 million to 320 nonprofit groups. Its web site is found at www.pewtrusts.com/.

(Dec 16, 1998)